Tales of the Dawning Sun
by vannahfanfics
Summary: A collection of oneshots from the fandom of Yona of the Dawn. DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters presented in these stories, aside from my OCs. Those rights belong exclusively to Mizuho Kusanagi. My requests are currently: OPEN
1. Foreword

Hello everyone! Welcome to my oneshot collection for Yona of the Dawn, _Tales of the Dawning Sun! _It includes a variety of stories, from passionate romances to tales of friendship, and I hope everyone enjoys reading them as much as I enjoy writing them. If you have migrated here from _Cuddle Corner, _thank you for sticking with me; if you are new, welcome and enjoy what I have here! In either case, happy reading!

I do take prompts/pairing and story requests (in fact, I love them, so please feel free to request!). However, there are a couple of guidelines to keep in mind:

If a prompt is submitted, I do not guarantee that I will agree to write it. If I feel uncomfortable at the prompt or otherwise feel like I do not possess enough information to adequately complete the prompt, it is my right to politely refuse to take the prompt. If the prompt is from a series that I have not read/seen, it is likely that I will place the prompt on hold until I have done so. If the prompt is from an anime filler arc, I may refuse or require a short explanation of the filler arc to provide me with enough detail to complete the prompt. Please respect my choice as an author to refuse prompts.

Most of the stories I write are male/female, mostly because this is what I am comfortable writing. However, if you wish to suggest a female/female or male/male prompt, please feel free to do so. I don't discriminate against such pairings and will most likely write them if requested, it is just unlikely that I will do so spontaneously. Again, please respect my decision as the author to refuse to write a pairing if I cannot draw appropriate inspiration.

Finally, this is _not _a place for smut. I respect people who read and/or write it, but I am not one of those people, so please do not request anything that is NSFW. Other than NSFW, there are two other things to keep I mind. _I do not romanticize cheating_. So if I feel your request involves something of this nature, I will politely refuse. I have been hassled about this before, so please don't press me on it. Secondly, _I am sensitive about large age gaps between characters_. These will be taken on a case-by-case basis and depends on the age of the characters as well as their relationship. I am particularly iffy concerning student-teacher relationships, and those will most likely be refused. Of course, everyone is entitled to their preferences and I will never harass you or judge you if you request something of this nature. All I ask is that if I refuse, you take is gracefully, and don't get upset if I happen to write another pairing with an age gap because the circumstances are most likely radically different. I promise you that I have my reasons.

Below is also a list of my other oneshot collections. Please do stop by if any of them pique your interest! Is there a fandom you love not represented? Please recommend it to me! I love new things to read.

The Bonds that We Hold Dear _(Naruto)_

Tales of Connected Souls _(Bleach)_

Tales from the Four Tribes_ (Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra)_

Equivalent Exchange: My Life for Yours_ (Fullmetal Alchemist)_

Love Burning Bright _(Blue Exorcist)_

Love on the High Seas _(One Piece)_

Love on a Fairy's Wing _(Fairy Tail)_

Tales of Resonating Souls _(Soul Eater)_

Tales from Ouran High _(Ouran High School Host Club)_

One Sky, One Destiny _(Kingdom Hearts)_

Tales from Edo _(Gintama)_

Tales of Scattered Realms _(Final Fantasy Franchise)_

Tales of the Zodiac _(Fruits Basket)_

Tales of Heroes and Villains_ (My Hero Academia)_

Tales of Sinners and Saints _(The Seven Deadly Sins)_

Memories of the World Between_ (Noragami)_

Tales of the Mafia _(Katekyo Hitman Reborn!) _


	2. Index

**Chapter 1: **Dawn and Dusk _(Yona & Soo-won & Lily)_

**Chapter 2:** Little Talks_ (Yona & Lily)_

**Chapter 3:** How It Always Will Be _(Yona & Hak & Soo-Won)_

**Chapter 4:** Dawn and Dusk Part II_ (Yona/Soo-Won)_

**Chapter 5:** Jealousy_ (Yona/Hak)_

**Chapter 6:** Whatever May Come_ (Yona)_

**Chapter 7:** The King and the Warrior_ (Hak & Soo-Won)_

**Chapter 8:** Heard _(Yona)_

**Chapter 9:** Heard Part II _(Yona/Hak)_

**Chapter 10:** A Most Dangerous Game _(Soo-Won & Yona)_

**Chapter 11:** Mad World_ (Soo-Won/Yona)_

**Chapter 12:** Mad World Part II_ (Soo-Won/Yona)_

**Chapter 13:** Happy Hungry Babysitters_ (Yona)_

**Chapter 14:** Dawn and Dusk Part III_ (Yona/Soo-Won)_

**Chapter 15:** A Most Dangerous Game Part II _(Soo-Won & Hak/Yona)_


	3. Dawn and Dusk

Category: Mild Romantic Fluff, Friendship Fluff

Characters: Yona, Lily, Soo-Won

Requested By: YonaWon (Ao3)

Lily awoke with a frightened start as the shriek of a snapping twig pierced the forest air, her heart pounding frantically in her chest. Fear was all she knew these days, since she and Yona had been captured and imprisoned in Sei, and since she had escaped with the red-haired princess into the wilderness. Her sea-blue eyes frantically searched the dank forest for the source of the disturbance. She huddled further amongst the sturdy roots of the tree she had been resting against, meagerly hoping it would swallow her up and hide her from what were likely prison guards coming to retrieve her renegade self. Yona was nowhere to be seen, either; where was her friend? Had she already been taken, leaving Lily defenseless? She tried to control her shallow, rapid breathing as she trembled against the forest floor, a rabbit caught in a hunter's trap.

"Lily, relax; it's just me." At the sound of Yona's faint whisper, Lily instantly melted into a puddle of relief against the tree. The princess emerged from the greenery with a mildly serious expression. She then scurried quickly over to her to kneel beside her. She must have run off to retrieve water while Lily slipped into unconsciousness. The thought made her eyes water, and she dropped her gaze to the loamy earth; Yona was so strong and capable, while she was just dead weight. It was frustrating.

"Lily, we have to go. There are Sei soldiers nearby. They may already know we're here," Yona told her and grabbed her by the wrist, already pulling her to her feet. Lily gasped, probably much too loudly, as she was pulled up and dragged further into the forest by the rushed princess. In some fragile, cowardly part of her, Lily wanted just to collapse right there and have Yone run off by herself. Though she had been asleep for at least an hour, her feet and calves were already screaming in protest each time they slapped against the cold, thick layer of forest debris, and the numerous cuts across her legs and arms stung horribly as the air whipped over them. Lily's mouth and throat burned like fire as she breathed, parched from thirst, and within minutes that burning flame spread to her lungs, which were begging for relief. As much as she wanted to give up though, she didn't; she _couldn't_, not with Yona there.

_I have to be strong like Yona. I can't be dead weight! _She told herself as she squeezed her eyes shut, pouring all of her strength into continuing the feverish pace. It wasn't to be, though; the Sei soldiers were indeed aware of their presence.

Lily looked over her shoulder with a fearful gasp as the forest behind them exploded with energy; the birds were startled from their nests, calling out to the night in warning as the bushes violently shook as the armored soldiers tromped and hacked through them. Their angry shouts echoed behind the two girls, and Lily could see the flash of their blades in the moonlight. The _thwang!_ of bowstrings soon joined them, and Lily shrieked in alarm as an arrowhead nicked the soft flesh of her ear and embedded itself into the thick bark of a tree as she dashed past. Yona tried to throw them off, weaving through the trees as the arrows whistled by around them. To Lily's amazement and relief, however, the sounds were rapidly retreating as the comparably lighter and smaller girls placed increasing distance between them. A strange euphoria, probably from the mixture of terror and adrenaline, filled Lily's blood as she considered that they might actually escape.

Then Yona screamed in agony as blood exploded from the back of her heel. Her hand was ripped from Lily's when she lost her footing and landed roughly on the ground. Lily's feet slipped in the loose dead leaves as she scrambled to a halt and scrambled back to Yona. The redhead was whining loudly and tenderly holding her foot, which had an arrow sticking out of the back of it. The arrowhead pierced deep into her flesh. Lily fell on her hands and knees beside her injured friend, looking wildly into the dark woods. She could not hear their shouts anymore, or maybe they weren't shouting at all; like beasts, they were surrounding and enclosing their prey.

The air all around Lily and Yona echoed with trembling leaves and resounding footsteps; in her panic, she wasn't even sure where they were coming from. It was like they were everywhere. Gulping, Lily looked back to Yona and grabbed her by the arm to drag her across the ground into a bushy thicket. The girl did not protest even as the pokey branches pricked her skin. The copse was not as sure a shield as Lily would like; Yona's bright red hair stuck out brightly against the muted smudges of brown and green, and a trail of equally red blood glowed ethereally in the patches of moonlight, leading right to their location. "Lily," Yona groaned and looked up at her with eyes scrunched up in pain. "Go on without me. You can still get away."

"No! I won't leave you!" she insisted hotly before looking down at the arrow, her eyebrows knit as she struggled with what to do. It was bleeding profusely, puddling around Yona's foot, and there was no way she would able to walk with such an injury, let alone run. Lily's hands fluttered about the shaft of the arrow, but never gripped it because she was afraid of hurting the already distraught girl.

"Lily-"

"No!" she snapped again and glared down at Yona. "I won't leave you, Yona. Either way, we are going together!" Really, there was no "either"; their outcome was inevitable. Lily's breath hitched in her throat as the air rang with snapping twigs again, frighteningly close. Speaking would undoubtedly alert the enemy to their location, so neither of them said anymore. Desperate to protect the girl who had done so much to protect her, Lily did her best to cover Yona's body with her own, hoping her dark hair and clothes wound blend in better with the earthy tones of the forest thicket. Below her, she could feel Yona shuddering in pain, and so she tried not to place too much weight on her to avoid causing her more discomfort.

Lily's eyes trained on the thin spaces between the interwoven branches of the thicket, and for a while, all she could see was the moonlight splashing across the empty ground. The forest air was now alive with the sound of leaves and twigs crunching underfoot. Then, to her acute alarm, a pair of dark boots appeared in her line of sight. Lily held her breath, but her heart did not obey despite how much she willed it to; it pounded thunderously against her ribcage, and she thought for sure that the perpetrator could hear its constant drumming. Lily watched with eyes as wide as saucers as the boots milled about only a few feet away, sliding in the leaves as their owner searched for signs of the girls. Lily prayed with everything she had that they would escape unnoticed, but they seemed unfounded.

It took everything within her not to jump violently when the stranger knelt, and she watched as his hands ruffled through the strewn leaves, picking one up. Lily saw with dismay Yona's blood glittering on its dull surface. A second passed as the man no doubt traced the path of the blood droplets with his eyes, and a sickening feeling grew in her stomach as he stood up and came marching up to the thicket. Trembling, Lily threw herself over Yona, thinking that maybe she would just be killed on sight and her body left there, and Yona could go unnoticed hidden beneath her. Large hands ripped apart the branches of the thicket and allowed the harsh light of the moon to spill over her.

"Finally, I found you. Are you hurt, Miss Lily?" Lily's eyes snapped open in shock at the voice who greeted her, and her head whipped upwards.

"General Geun-Tae?" Her voice was like a parrot's squawk, high-pitched and squeaky with the sheer amount of disbelief in it. The long-haired man smirked down at her before standing up straight and cupping a hand to his mouth to shout into the dark of the forest.

"Hey! I found her!"

Lily exhaled deeply, momentarily relieved, but then just as quickly, a fresh wave of horror crashed over her. If the general was here, then surely King Soo-Won was with him, and Lily absolutely could not allow Yona to be discovered. That was just as much of a death sentence as being caught by the Sei soldiers. Resolutely, Lily remained hunkered down over the princess and warily looked up at the general. "What's the ma- wait, who are you hiding?" he accused, and though Lily tried her best to resist, his brute strength was too much for her; with frustrating ease, he grabbed her by the shoulder and firmly but delicately straightened her up into a sitting position, and Yona came into plain view. To the princess' credit, though her face was smudged with dirt and her hair tangled with leaves and her skin shining with a thin sheen of sweat, her expression was as fiery as her hair as she glared up at the startled general. "What-? But you're-"

"Good job, General. We should get Miss Lily out of here as soon as possible." The dreadful pit that had formed in Lily's stomach grew three times bigger as Soo-Won's voice came fluttering into the clearing. She peered nervously around Geun-Tae as he came casually strolling onto the scene with General Joo-Doh walking stiffly behind him. Geun-Tae whipped around with a complicated expression, his eyes flicking from the injured Yona to the king and back. Soo-Won's face morphed from a small smile to a bewildered one. "What is it?"

"Er-" Before the general could explain, Soo-Won came walking over to the destroyed thicket to investigate himself. As he did so, Yona was just dragging herself into a sitting position with one slim hand curled around her still-bleeding ankle. She tossed her sunset hair to glance blankly up at him the king's eyes grew incredibly wide. A tense moment of silence passed. Before any of the men could decide to put Yona to an untimely end, Lily threw herself between them, throwing out her arms on either side as if it would make herself a wider shield.

"Don't hurt Yona! She helped me escape from the Sei prison, and is my friend. If you do anything to her, I won't forgive you!" She tried to pour malice and intensity into her voice like Yona would, but to her irritation, her throat would not obey. Her voice cracked and trembled, her arms matching the tremor, and her glare was as unsteady as the branches trembling in the wind above. Despite that, her voice seemed to rouse something inside of Soo-Won. He nodded before looking at Geun-Tae.

"General, look after Miss Lily here. Yona is hurt and needs medical attention," he ordered. Lily could not read the expression on his face, and that frightened her.

"No! I'm staying with Yona!" she snapped hotly as the general shrugged and promptly leaned down to very rudely grab Lily by the waist and haul her out of the thicket to throw her over his shoulder like a mere sack of potatoes. "Hey! Do you hear me? Unhand me now! This is no way to treat a lady!" she screeched in anger as she beat on his broad back to no effect. As the general whirled around to begin walking towards his horse, it gave Lily a clear view of Soo-Won kneeling in the remains of the thicket behind the bedraggled, regal exiled princess. Lily's heart jumped in her throat as she began more panicked for her friend's welfare than irritated at her own treatment. "Let me go! I'm not going anywhere without Yona! Yona! _Yoooooonaaaaaaa!_" she wailed as she continuously struggled in the general's grip with frightened tears streaming down her cheeks, washing the dirt away with them before falling into the air, glittering like diamonds in the streaming moonlight.

* * *

Yona kept her expression as rigid as stone as the man who killed her father knelt in the crumpled branches and crushed leaves to bring his face down to the level of hers. As the moonlight shone down from the breaks in the canopy above, it washed over his golden hair to turn it a shining silver. His pale skin seemed to glow, making him look like an angel sent from above to deliver Yona from this fresh Hell. Yona knew much better than that, though; pretty-faced and elegant as he was, Soo-Won was no angel, but a devil to the core. His expression was as unreadable as hers as he lifted a hand to hold it out to her in offering.

"Yona, you must trust me. I will take both you and Lily to a safe place." Lily had stopped screaming and was just sniffling miserably on the other side of the clearing, perched in front of the broad general on his destrier. The stoic Joo-Doh was watching with apparent interest from beside his own, and Yona was quite aware that his hand was resting on the hilt of his sword. Her mouth twitched as she straightened herself up, though it sent pain shooting through every nerve in her body, and made a show of resting her hands primly in her lap rather than taking the one held out in front of her.

"Trust you? I think not. For all I know, this is all a show for Lily's sake. You've never cared about me, Soo-Won," she said bitterly. Hearing the words spit like acid out of her mouth made her sad. Even now, after all, that had happened, she desperately wanted for them to be untrue. She wanted the man that she loved once to feel something for her so she could fall into his arms and be safe and wanted. That would never be, though; if Soo-Won had cared, he wouldn't have murdered her father in cold blood. _But what about that time? _chimed the annoying voice in her head. He had shielded her from prying eyes once, and had allowed her to escape back to her party unharried. If he had truly wanted to be rid of her, he surely would have done so by now. Already, Yona's resolve and stubbornness was waning, but she still refused to allow the quiver to come to her bottom lip or the tears to flood into her eyes. Her eyes burned like the dawn as she waited for his response.

"Yona," he exhaled deeply, and with the way he tilted his head and closed his eyes, she could tell that his patience with her was already wearing thin. "I haven't the time to explain it all to you right now. Please, if not for your own sake, then for Lily's. You both direly need medical attention." At the mention of her friend, another piece of Yona's shield went splintering off. Lily was of much weaker constitution than Yona, having been sheltered in a palace and not subject to the hardships Yona had of late. Yona knew that the girl had reached her limit already. Still, she had too much pride to rise to the king's bait.

"Don't try to use her as leverage, Soo-Won. That still doesn't change anything. Face it- you can't give me a legitimate reason for me to-"

"Fine!" he barked at her suddenly, cutting her off. Despite herself, she jumped slightly at the ferocity in his voice and the intensity of his gaze when he snapped his eyes open to gaze ferociously at her. With a flushing rising into his cheeks, he spat, "How about because I _love _you, Yona? Is _that _good enough for you?" Yona was immensely struck, having expected any other reason but that. Her knee-jerk reaction was to claim it as a lie immediately. However, Soo-Won anticipated such a response and thus acted appropriately to quell her continuous rebellion.

With his face now as red as Yona's fiery hair, he stiffly wrapped a hand around the back of her head to jerk her forward. Every cell in her body pulsed as his lips crashed against hers, fiercely but passionately. One part of her was screaming to pull back and slap him. The other part of her strongly overpowered it, the part of her that she had tried to quash ever since that night at the castle watching Soo-Won draw the bloody blade out of the corpse of her beloved father- the part that loved Soo-Won deeply, wholly, with everything she had. Enslaved by her emotions, Yona slumped against Soo-Won, her slightly shaking hands curling into the fabric of his high-quality, kingly robes as her eyes drifted shut. "I care about you, Yona… Really, I do," he whispered against her lips, and that sent a trembling shudder throughout her entire body unlike anything she had ever felt. _No, I can't let him get to me! _she thought with gritted teeth and jerked back stiffly for a second.

"You're a liar! You don't care about me!" she insisted, and she hated how weak and feeble her voice sounded. That part of her tugged fiercely, drawing her body further against him though her mind tried to resist. _He doesn't… He can't love me… _

"You're like a stubborn child," he grunted. At once, he swept her up in his kiss again, even more fiercely than before. Her senses became dominated by the feeling of his lips moving against her own, hungry and full of desire, and his slim fingers sliding through the tangled strands of her dawn-colored hair. As he kissed her intensely, Yona could not deny it this time; there was no lie. Soo-Won loved her, despite all the twisted things that he had done. That made her sadder than anything yet. The tears began to stream silently down her cheeks.

Though she loved him, though she trusted him, she could not forgive him. Thus they could never be no matter how much either of them wanted it.

"Lord Soo-Won, the Sei soldiers will be here soon," Joo-Doh coughed awkwardly from his spot across the clearing, and Soo-Won jerked slightly. Yona's let out a small sigh as he pulled back from her, very hesitantly, and her eyelashes fluttered open to look up at him with faintly peek cheeks. He sniffed as he tried to resume some kind of kingly manner, sitting stiffly upright as he uncomfortably teased his fingers through his long, blonde hair. His eyes twitched slightly as he muttered, "Will you come with me _now_?" Yona silently nodded, wiping at her eyes with backs of her hands while she stared mutely down at her lap.

Her mind was still descended in fog. She struggled with the realization that her feelings were reciprocated and the uncertainty of her future. How was she going to keep moving forward, knowing this? She couldn't abandon Hak, Yoon, and the others, and she just simply couldn't forget the fact that Soo-Won killed her father. Yet, he had softened something inside of her. Now she just didn't know what she was going to do anymore. Slightly frustrated with it, she decided that she didn't have to conclude that now, and she was just going to face the moment.

She rested her head against Soo-Won's shoulder as he slipped his arms around her, effortlessly lifting her from the thicket and turning around with her nestled in his arms like a groom would his bride. It was not preferred of Yona, but she was severely dehydrated and unable to walk with her injury, so she just obediently remained in his gentle hold. Both of them flushed simultaneously when they realized that Geun-Tae and Lily were gawking shamelessly, their mouths wide open. Joo-Doh, he was too serious for that, but he definitely looked floored and uncomfortable.

"But- I thought- Lily?" General Geun-Tae stammered and looked in bewilderment at the other princess. "You-? I'm so confused," he exhaled deeply and slumped his shoulders with a tired expression. Lily had gone pale and was looking at her in deep concern, and so the princess just smiled wearily and waved a hand to indicate that she was just fine (well, fine enough) with the development. Lily frowned deeply but nodded in understanding, probably just content with knowing that Yona would be okay in the hands of the king. Yona looked up at Soo-Won, who twitched his nose with an expression halfway between a glare and a smile as he regarded Geun-Tae.

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's go," Soo-Won huffed as he promptly carried Yona over to his horse and set her into the saddle before climbing up himself. She swallowed slightly as he put one arm around her middle and held him securely against him, her head pressed right in the middle of his chest. As he turned the horse around with a whip of the reins, she resigned herself and flopped wearily back against him.

"This doesn't change anything, you know," she murmured to him while keeping her gaze on the shifting landscape of the forest.

"You sure have gotten stubborn, Yona," he sniffed at her, doing the same. He knew it didn't change anything, either. They were going to be at odds, for the foreseeable future, at least; their paths definitely intertwined, but would they ever be joined?

Yona didn't know, and it hurt her wearied mind to contemplate it. Instead, she pondered fantasies that had been lost to her- the dawn of a romance between herself and the king. She closed her eyes, savoring the way he held her tightly, securely, like he never wanted to let her go, and for the briefest of moments pretended that he wouldn't have to.

If Yona was the dawn, Soo-Won was the dusk, two very similar things that could never meet, and were destined to oppose each other for the rest of time…


	4. Little Talks

Category: Friendship Fluff

Characters: Yona, Lily

Requested By: snow3bunny (Ao3)

Lily strode purposefully down the streets of the city, perhaps more purposefully than she usually did; after all, she had just recruited a handful of very useful and powerful-looking men to her cause against the vicious drug poisoning her people, so needless to say her mood had elevated quite considerably. The rain had ceased, as well, allowing a small amount of sunlight to peek through the lingering clouds and create kaleidoscopic patterns of light in the puddles of rainwater splashing beneath her slippered feet. The troop's apparent leader, the blonde-haired, quiet man named Won who was not too much older than her, seemed a bit unassuming on the outside but Lily could nevertheless feel considerable intelligence and a faintly intense energy radiating from within him. _Surey, with their help, I'll be able to get to the bottom of this and find out who's supplying all these drugs! _The thought put a slight spring in her step, causing her long black hair to swish slightly about her waist as she walked. Her eyes sparkled with hope and determination as she proceeded down the cobblestone walkways with the men walking silently behind her in their cloaks. _Just wait, Yona! I'm gonna do it!_

Lily's radiating, sun-like energy was suddenly snuffed out as she heard the unmistakable sound of conflict drifting out of an alleyway further ahead. One glance over her shoulder revealed that the noises had not escaped the attention of the men; General Joo-Doh already had a hand on the hilt of his sword, and Won was staring levelly at the entrance of the alleyway. Lily swallowed slightly as she debated whether or not to approach the alleyway to discover the source of the commotion; undoubtedly, the vile drug Nadai was at the root of the conflict. She shuddered slightly as she recalled the iron stench of Tetra and Yona's blood, splattered across the hallway of the inn as Hiyou the drug smuggler and his thugs attempted to stop their lives short. Then, Lily had not been able to do anything but quake in fear and cry. She balled up her fists and gritted her teeth as the memory of powerlessness and hopelessness flashed at the forefront of her mind. _No! I said that I would stop this conflict myself, instead of relying on Yona and the others! I am the princess of the Water Tribe! This is __**my**__ responsibility! _Without bothering to consult her escorts, she took off in a run towards the entrance of the alleyway, garnering gasps of alarm from them.

The water splashed around her feet as she slipped in a puddle at the entrance of the alley, and she had to whirl her arms about and lean heavily to the side in order to keep from making a disgraceful fall.

"Stop right there!" she shouted without even taking a second to see exactly what was going on. She tried to keep the firm, unperturbed expression on her face as four men brandishing swords glared back at her. In the gaps between their ugly mugs and their clothing, Lily caught a glimpse of bright red hair peeking out from underneath a cloak, partnered by a ponytail of muted green. _It's Yona, and what must be one of her companions! These must be assassins that Hiyou sent! _she realized with a slight gasp, and she then realized that she had landed herself in a rather precarious situation herself. Without warning, one of the men lunged at her; his sword flashed angrily in the stream of sunlight, and with a terrified screech Lily threw herself backwards as the sword greedily tried to bite at her throat. Instead of falling all the way back and landing on the hard, unforgiving concrete, she landed with a soft _poompf _against someone's body.

"That was a close one, Lady Lily," Won mused over her shoulder as she fell into his robes, blushing; meanwhile, Joo-Doh's sword had risen to meet her attacker's, and they collided with a resounding clash. In a matter of seconds, the three skilled fighters had made short work of the assassins, and they were now lying in varying states of consciousness groaning against the cobblestone. Lily pushed herself away from Won, and, after nervously ensuring that none of the men were in well enough state to grab her ankles as she walked by, hurriedly picked her way through the tangle of limbs and bodies to scamper over the tall, puzzled man bearing her friend on his back.

"Yona! Are you all right?" she cried as she approached. She was too preoccupied with securing Yona to notice the complicated look that passed over Won's face, but he had wiped his face into a blank slate in the mere seconds it took for her to take in Yona's pale face and ragged breathing and then look at him with much distress. "Won! This is my friend. Please, we have to help her!"

"It's okay, Lily," Yona huffed wearily, and Lily looked back to find her smiling weakly. "Jae-ha is going to take me to an inn. I'm just tired, that's all." Her warm gaze slid from Lily to Won, standing a distance behind her, and Lily noticed a haze pass over her red eyes. She immediately took this as a sign that Yona was slipping further into fever, and she shook her head adamantly.

"No, no! It's far too dangerous with these assassins after you, Yona! These men are strong! They can protect you, too!" Jae-ha, who had been staring curiously at the four men for the entire exchange, glanced down at the exhausted princess with a consoling expression.

"I think she's right. I would like to go check on Yoon and the others, anyway; they're taking longer than I thought they would. You can stay with them while I circle back to go see if they've gotten themselves into trouble, too." A pink haze appeared across Yona's cheeks as she considered the notion, and knowing her stubbornness, Lily was afraid that she would once more refuse. _Yona suffered a terrible wound. She is in bad condition, whether she wants to admit it or not. The best thing for her would be to stay at an inn, where lots of people can protect her, not just Jae-ha! _

"Fine," she mumbled finally, her eyes flickering to Won once more before she buried her face into Jae-ha's neck. The green-haired main straightened up with a serene smile.

"Very good, very good. Well then, Lady Lily, lead the way- as long as it's all rigfht with your friends, of course," he purred with a nod of his head. Lily whirled about, looking at Won hopefully; he was in intent whispered conversation with Joo-Doh, but as she turned on them, it abruptly cut short and the general looked off, seemingly on the losing end of the debate.

"Of course she can stay with us. I wouldn't want any harm to come to a friend of yours, Lily." The dark-haired princess breathed a sigh of relief and scuttled over the unconscious assassins to rejoin Won and his capable troop. As he walked alongside her, she noticed that he was staring intently at the red-haired princess, who was distinctly averting his gaze. _I wonder what's with that? Does he think Yona's pretty? _She thought with slight amusement.

* * *

Won secured them a pair of adjoining rooms, and as he said, Jae-ha left to check on the rest of their friends while Yona rested with Lily and her guards. Yona was lying on her stomach with her kimono open while Lily attempted her best to apply medicine that Yoon had packed with the princess to the gaping gash in her back; the adjoining door was open to allow her guards an easy route into the room should assassins storm in after Yona, but they were all looking away to protect Yona's modesty. As she stared down at it, the long laceration that stretched in a downward arc between her shoulderblades, crusted with blood and oozing fluid, the image of the sword flashing through the red-haired girl's skin flashed in her mind and made bile rise to her throat. Her fingertips trembled as they gently swept over the healing wound, and it made her less gentle; she heard Yona hiss and felt her flinch as she accidently pressed too hard.

"I'm sorry!" she squeaked on reflex. As Yona murmured some casual, comforting remark, Lily exhaled slightly and swept the last of the ointment across the wound. She closed the vial of medicine and instead of indicating to Yona that she could slip back into her kimono, she pressed her hand against the small of the girl's back, right underneath the gaping wound. "I'm sorry, Yona… If I had not been so weak, you wouldn't have gotten injured like this." Her bottom lip wobbled as the tears flooded into her eyes. _Both Yona and Tetora… Got hurt for my sake… I know my strength lies elsewhere, but I still wish I could fight so that others didn't have to take the strikes meant for me, _she lamented.

"Lily. It's all right." Lily looked up to see that Yona had turned her head to smile sweetly at her. "I got hurt because _I _was weak." Lily sniffed, and Yona narrowed her eyes slightly. "… But it isn't safe with these assassins after me. You should go back home, where Tetora and Ayura can keep you safe."

"Nuh-uh!" she refused immediately with a dramatic shake of her head. "As princess of the Water Tribe, it's my responsibility to deal with the Nadai, too! I want to fight alongside you, Yona!" she insisted and leaned forward. Yona's eyes widened slightly, and then she giggled. Lily, totally serious, puffed out her cheeks and flushed. "I'm serious! It's not funny!"

"No, I know. You're serious face is kinda funny."

"Is it?!" she gasped, and her sleeves flopped in her face as she covered it with her hands. This made Yona laugh more, and after realizing that it had been a joke, she lowered her hands and glowered at her with cheeks as red as her hair. Yona sat up with a contented sigh, and Lily protected her body from prying eyes as she slipped back into her kimono. She then looked at Lily happily.

"I'm glad to have you by my side, Lily." The remark made Lily's chest swell with joy, and she was so overcome with emotion that all she could do was nod slightly with a big smile on her face; if she tried to say anything, she would choke up and cry. There then came a light knock at the threshold of the sliding door, and Lily turned slightly to see Won entering with a small pail of water and a rag.

"I thought that this might help with Yo- the lady's fever," he said, and though he was wearing that same calm, collected look with a hint of a smile, Lily caught the tension in his voice as he corrected himself. His eyes flickered to Yona, who was watching him guardedly, her chin tilted up slightly. "May I?"

"Lily can do it, thank you," was Yona's curt reply. The corner of Won's mouth twitched, but he obediently set the pail of water beside Lily and promptly whirled on his feet; rather than leaving the room completely, he perched himself in the doorframe, leaned up against it with his arms crossed and his eyes closed as if he were sleeping. Lily did not know what to think of his odd behavior, so busied herself with dipping the rag in the water and wringing it out. Yona's eyes were glued to Won as she laid back, gingerly, and allowed Lily to place the cool rag across her forehead.

"Does he have to stay right there?" the redhead whispered to her as she leaned over. A quizzical look passed over Lily's face, and she glanced out of the corners of her eyes at Won; he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, not listening to the exchange of the two girls.

"I think he's just worried that assassins may attack, Yona. I mean, if anyone says that a red-haired girl is staying here, they'll go searching room to room," she explained quietly, for Yona's benefit. She smiled down at her. "I trust him! He protected me from assassins that were looking for you. You'll be safe until Jae-ha comes back." Yona looked uncomfortable for a moment, then exhaled deeply before nodding in understanding. Lily grinned as she sat up, tucking her legs primly underneath her and placing her hands in her lap as she sat at Yona's side tending to her. "So… Tell me about Jae-ha and the others. I want to know what kind of people you're traveling with."

So, Yona told Lily about her friends. She talked about Yoon, who was their doctor and loved to read, especially about medicine; about Kija, who was sweet and shy and was very gentlemanly; about Shin-ah, who was even more shy and barely ever spoke, but was a fierce fighter and had a pet chipmunk named Ao; about Jae-ha, who was kind of a scoundrel and playfully flirtatious but always made sure to treat Yona with respect and dignity; and about Zeno, who was a happy-go-lucky, childish young man who never failed to lift Yona's spirits. Yona talked a lot about Hak, whom she had been with the longest and was a renowned warrior, whom had taught Yona to fight and whom she trusted with her life. Hearing the way she spoke and the way her expression changed when she brought him up, Lily joked, "Is he your boyfriend, Yona?"

"No!" The blatant, almost angry refusal did little to quell Lily's suspicions. Her face blazing, her gaze surprisingly slid once more to Won, whom was just stiffly sitting in the doorway. "Hak is just my childhood friend… He protected me when I needed it most. He would _never_ leave me or betray me." From across the room, Lily heard Won inhale sharply, and when she looked at him his fingers were curled tightly into the fabric of his robes. She narrowed her eyes slightly. _Something is definitely going on between them. _Before she had the chance to ask, Won abruptly stood up and glanced in their direction. Lily could have sworn that his expression was sad.

"It's getting late, Lady Lily, Lady… Yona." The way he caught on her name and the flash of emotion in his eyes was not lost on the princess. "You should get some rest," he added with a respectful dip of his head before disappearing into the men's side of the suite. Lily looked back at Yona, a question dancing on her tongue, but the girl had turned on her side with her back toward the door and Lily knew that asking about the nature of their relationship was not the appropriate thing to do. Lily sat there for a moment, then pushed the pail of water aside and pulled her blankets so that they were right beside Yona's, and then slipped into bed beside her.

"Yona?" At the prompting, the princess turned back onto her back to look at her with a tired expression. She probably expected her to inquire, but Lily just smiled sweetly and leaned her head against hers. "I'll protect you, too, like Hak. Even if I have to use my body as a shield or give up my life… I'll be your ally." That wasn't just for her benefit; Lily meant every word of it. Lily now knew what it meant to be devoted to someone, both body and soul; like Tetora and Ayura were to her. Yona was just that special to her, and believed that she could change the whole world if she put her mind to it. Yona smiled happily and pressed her forehead against Lily's.

"Thank you… But don't be too eager. I'll miss our little talks, you know? I don't have any other girls to talk to," she mused. Lily started to giggle, and Yona followed soon after, and soon they were just a pair of giggling fools in a dark room. After they finally calmed down and talked a little more, the drowsiness began to set in; as Lily was drifting off, her hand enclosed in her friend's and her eyes drooping, a small smile was on her lips.

_I'll be your strength… Just like you're mine, Yona. Even when your destiny carries you far away from me, I'll never cease to fight for your cause… Because you're my very first true friend. _


	5. How It Always Will Be

Category: Friendship Fluff

Characters: Yona, Soo-Won, Hak

Requested By: Anonymous User

Hak exhaled sharply out of his nose as he lounged lazily on one of the many sets of steps within the castle which he now called home. It had been less than twenty-four hours since he had been declared as Yona's official guardian, over many older and arguably more qualified warriors, and yet somehow, he had managed to get settled into the lofty home in such a short amount of time. It had been a major upset, of course, and he had been receiving quizzical and even jealous looks all day, but he didn't much care. Hak was Yona's protector now, and really, that's all that mattered.

Hak leaned back with raised eyebrows as he heard soft footsteps proceeding across the hallway, and his eyes crept up to the roots of his dark hair when he clapped eyes on who was striding towards him.

"Soo-Won? What're you doing here?" he blinked as the blonde-haired boy jovially approached him. Soo-Won put his hands on his hips with a frown as he asked, apparently thinking that Hak must know why he decided to just randomly show up.

"You didn't think I wouldn't come here to congratulate you personally, did you?" he huffed with puffed-out cheeks, most undignified for a person of his stature, but Soo-Won was always doing things like that despite his position as a royal. He then smiled and leaned down slightly to grin at him widely. "Well, congrats on your promotion, Hak!"

"Thanks. You can go home now."

"You're so mean!" he whined as he hung his head with a crestfallen sigh. He held it like that for a few seconds before he straightened up, pushing his long blonde hair out of his face and seemingly completely recovered from his depressive spell, as he was already smiling again. "Where's Yona?"

"Dunno."

"You're her guardian and you don't know where she is?" Hak's eyebrow twitched at the blatantly accusatory remark, and he stood up, leaning on his weapon as he glared grumpily at his friend and rival.

"Look, they've had me busy with all this preparatory crap, so I haven't seen her. She's probably in her room," he grumbled in response. He twirled his _guandao_ in his hand before walking past Soo-Won, making a point to brush up against his robes. Soo-Won hesitated for a bit, staring at him in confusion, and so Hak looked over his shoulder with an annoyed grimace. "Well, do ya wanna go see her, or what?" he snorted before continuing onward towards the princess' quarters, and he heard Soo-Won shuffle hurriedly after him before falling in step with him. He practically radiated regality and serenity, while Hak just looked like a scruffy vagabond beside him. That's how it always was, and how it always would be- not that Hak was jealous. He wanted no part of fancy clothes and balls and kissing ass; he much preferred his functional battle gear and long days of training, blood and sweat and tears for a hard day's work, and a life of service to the princess. It was what he was born to do, and he didn't resent it…

Even if Yona loved Soo-Won instead of him.

Neither of them knew that, of course; Hak was very, very good at hiding that part of himself. Soo-Won was a much better match for Yona than he was, even if they were cousins; intermarriage was not terribly uncommon in the royal family, after all. Soo-Won knew the ins and outs of royal life even more than Yona did, and was clever and charismatic. He was then perfect choice to lead the country one day alongside the innocent, naïve girl, and Hak was the perfect choice to stay on the sidelines, baring his fangs when needed. That was where _he _excelled.

Soo-Won paused to knock on the door to Yona's quarters before entering. Yona was sitting on the floor, her dress puddling around her like colorful water, and was doing some calligraphy with muted interest. Instantly, Hak realized something was off; Yona did not immediately spring up to scurry over to her beloved Soo-Won and embrace him as she normally did, but only responded to his cheerful greeting with a muted "hello." Yona had just turned thirteen, and so Hak wondered if she was entering her "rebellious teenage phase" as the adults called it (that was what they said about Hak's foul attitude, anyway) but it was hard to see the normally sweet and happy Yona being rebellious about anything. Soo-Won crossed the room to sit on his knees beside her, while Hak leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and his weapon propped up beside him.

"Wow, Yona, your penmanship is wonderful. May I see it?" Soo-Won asked nicely. Hak rolled his eyes, expecting the girl to turn as red as her head and shyly allow him to ponder her beautiful creation, but to his shock she just huffed grumpily and roughly shoved it over to him. Soo-Won raised his eyebrows and looked at Hak quizzically before tentatively picking up the parchment and looking at the character she had painted in ink on it. Before he even opened his mouth to speak, she snatched it from his hands and promptly crumpled it up, angrily tossing it aside before shoving the calligraphy set away.

"Don't even bother; it's horrible. I'm terrible at calligraphy! I hate it! I don't know why Father makes me practice something so useless," she snapped as she crossed her arms and fumed. Hak watched in bewilderment as she abused the wooden station; the ink bottle toppled over and spilled over its surface, creeping towards the edge, which overlooked her pristine pink dress.

"Oh, Yona, you'll get ink-" Soo-Won went to say and grabbed her elbow to gently move her, but she jerked it away and rounded on him.

"I don't care!" she snapped hotly. "I hate these stuffy dresses, too!" At that proclamation, she jumped up and began tearing at the thick fabric; Hak was in a sheer state of shock, because Yona had always been one to avidly dress up and make herself look pretty, especially when Soo-Won was around. Her face flushed, both in exertion and frustration because her feeble grip could not rip the fabric from her body, she settled for angrily wrenching her hairpiece out of her fiery red locks and flinging it across the room. It just so happened that she had flung it straight at Hak, and he had to duck to avoid being pelted in the face with the bejeweled metal flower. It shattered to pieces above him, sending jewel shards and metal bits sprinkling into his hair. He rounded on Yona with his shoulders nearly bristling like a cat's.

"Hey! Watch where you're throwing!"

"Watch where you're standing! You shouldn't have been in the way!" she argued, and that caused Hak to recoil even more. Yona was _never_ argumentative; she would just meekly apologize. _What the hell has gotten into her?! _He thought wildly, looking to Soo-Won for an explanation but he just shrugged back with equally wide and clueless eyes. Suddenly, Yona doubled over with a pained cry, falling to her knees while tenderly holding her stomach. Both Soo-Won and Hak were at her side in an instant; Hak placed the back of his hand against her forehead, and was alarmed to find it burning hot to the touch. "Nggh… My stomach hurts so bad," she whimpered with tears forming in the corners of her rose-colored eyes, and Hak's first, terrified thought was that she had been poisoned on his watch and that was the explanation for her irrational behavior and now cramps.

"We should get her to the castle's doctor," his friend recommended, and before Hak could do anything, effortlessly scooped Yona into his arms and went dashing out of the doors in a flash of blonde locks and light robes. Hak snatched up his _guandao_ and trotted after him, gritting his teeth; he was angry that Soo-Won reacted first and so smoothly, and he was angry that he had potentially missed something, and had monumentally screwed up. He didn't know what had made Yona so terribly ill all of a sudden, and for a brief moment of horrified lunacy, he entertained the notion that she could die. _No, no, no! Tha's not gonna happen! Stop overreacting, _he scolded himself as he hurriedly followed Soo-Won down the corridor.

* * *

Half an hour later they were sitting outside the door to the resident doctor's quarters, one on either side of the frame, both staring wordlessly at the opposite wall. Hak could hear Yona crying pitifully within the room, and each sob sent sparks dancing like fire through his nerves. He was supposed to be her protector, but he couldn't ease her pain or even stop it from coming. It was the most helpless he had ever felt, and he _hated _it. His hands wrapped so tightly around the handle of his weapon that his knuckles glared white, matching the shade of his face. With a small gulp, his eyes slid to Soo-Won, who was continuing his staring contest with the painted wall and strangely emotionless.

"Hey… You think she's gonna be okay?" he asked quietly. It was not often that Hak went to him for assurance, if ever, but the thought of the opposite being true was too much to bear for him at the moment. He needed affirmation, even if it was a lie and even if it came from Soo-Won, whom he never wanted to perceive him as weak. Soo-Won's shoulders jumped slightly as he was torn from his thoughts, and when he looked at Hak, his blank face melted into a reassuring smile.

"Of course. She probably just ate something that didn't agree with her." It was a lame response, but enough to stifle Hak's more terrifying theories. Suddenly, the door between them opened, and both of them sprang to their feet to badger the very startled doctor who had just exited. "Doctor! Is Yona all right?"

"Yeah, old man, spill it already, what's wrong with her?" The doctor regarded them for a second, then smiled kindly and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"There's no cause to worry. Yona is just becoming a young lady." Soo-Won and Hak looked at each other in complete befuddlement, then turned their attention back to the physician.

"What the hell does _that _mean?" Hak asked rudely, not in the mood for run-around explanations or games. The doctor raised his white eyebrows, the wrinkles in his face creasing as he frowned awkwardly, and then he sighed deeply and straightened up to stroke his beard while looking up at the ceiling.

"Let's see… How can I put this delicately?"

No matter how _delicately_ he could have put it, Hak could have never prepared himself for the explanation he received that day. After the man finished his lecture and bade them permission to enter the room and comfort Yona, he and Soo-Won hovered outside the door wearing identical blushes, neither of them willing to reach out and slide the door open to see the princess who was _blossoming. _Hak coughed uncomfortably before whispering, "S-Soo-Won… Did you… Know any of that…?"

"No. It makes me kind of thankful I was born a man."

"We're in agreement for once." The two shell-shocked boys lingered like ghosts in the hallway for a moment, unsure if they wanted to brave the sleeping lion within the room, before Hak decided that he would rather incite Yona's wrath than wonder if she was in their writhing in pain of need of him, and so he stiffly opened the door. Yona was lying in the bed covered with many blankets, a damp rag laying over her forehead, whimpering slightly. "Yona?" he asked quietly as he crept across the room, and he stiffened like a board as her eyelashes fluttered open to gaze up at him; thankfully, there was not bitterness or anger swirling in the red irises of her eyes, but warm relief. Hak breathed out slightly as he sat down cross-legged beside her, while Soo-Won took a seat opposite him, sitting on his knees like a proper royal would.

"I'm sorry I was so short with you, and threw that hairpin at you, Hak. I was just in a lot of pain," she apologized quietly, too guilty to meet either of their gazes. Her face was still pink and shining with a thin sheet of sweat from the fever. Hak scratched the side of his face awkwardly, still not sure what to make of the entire situation, while his companion smiled kindly.

"It's okay, Yona. Do you feel better now?" he told her. Yona squirmed uncomfortably beneath the mass of blankets.

"A little… The doctor gave me some medicine to help with the cramping, but I still don't feel very good."

"That's okay. Just lay here and rest. We'll stay here with you," Soo-Won said and reached out to grasp her hand. Yona stiffened slightly, her face turning a shade darker in embarrassment, and Hak thought it was at least good that she had gotten back to her normal self somewhat… Even if the way she fawned over Soo-Won was mildly irritating. With a small sigh, he took the damp rag and dipped it in fresh cold water and replaced it, then let his hair fall into her red tresses of hair that were framing her flushed face. He let his fingers run through it, the only soothing gesture he really knew how to give; Yona didn't rebuke him for it. She smiled slightly and closed her eyes, snuggling further into the blankets with a contented hum.

"Thank you both… I feel better with you both beside me."

Soo-Won on one side grasping her hand, Hak on the other wishing he could, the innocent, beautiful princess between. Just like it always had been, and how it always would be…


	6. Dawn and Dusk Part II

Category: Romantic Fluff

Characters: Soo-Won, Yona

Requested by: Lee03na (Ao3)

Yona's eyes gently fluttered as she felt Soo-Won shifting behind her. Apparently, her exhaustion had led to her dozing off on the horse, despite her lingering cautiousness concerning the entire situation that had developed in the forest of Sei Province. Yona's mind took a moment to ascend from the fog of sleep. She blinked blearily as she felt Soo-Won swing of the horse to land lightly on his feet, and almost by reflex, her dawn-like eyes sought him out. He was straightening out his robes, but when he felt Yona's gaze on him, his eyes flickered up to meet hers. It was only then that true consciousness returned to Yona. Her cheeks flushed, and she hurriedly tore her gaze away to again stare at her lap, which was apparently her object of interest lately.

_I can't give him any reason to think that this changes anything. I must return to Hak and the others as soon as possible… _

"Yona." She forced herself to glance back down as Soo-Won coughed politely. "I'm going to take you down from the horse now." Yona blinked slightly, because admittedly- and infuriatingly- she respected him a little more for asking permission. She gave him a civil nod of compliance in response. Yona could not help the way her muscles tightened as his hands gripped her waist; half of her wanted to be touched, yet the other half of her shuddered in revulsion. She could only see his blood-stained hands holding her, dying her kimono red and the iron stench filling up her nose. She flinched, squeezing her eyes shut, and she felt Soo-Won freeze in the middle of attempting to lift her down. She cracked an eye open, and the grotesque vision was gone. Soo-Won's eyes were wide, staring her as if wondering if he should go forward.

"I just brushed my ankle against the horse," she lied quickly. Soo-Won looked down at the still-bleeding wound as if registering it, then slowly nodded and proceeded to continue what he was doing. He easily lifted Yona from the steed, once again settling her into his arms since she couldn't walk. Yona swallowed slightly and gripped the fabric of his robes, as if she needed to ground herself somehow. Unfortunately, she could only ground herself to him. She was still reeling from their heated kiss. The heat rose to her face just thinking about it, how nice it felt…

_No! _she thought wildly. If she had not been in Soo-Won's arms, she would have tossed her head about to forcibly shake out the thought. If her old feelings for Soo-Won were dredged up again, nothing good would come of it.

"Yona!" Lily's voice distracted her from the dilemma within her heart. Lily came running up, pausing to give Soo-Won a suspicious pout, before looking sadly down at Yona's ankle. "You're still bleeding…"

"It's all right, Lily. It looks worse than it is," she reassured her quietly. Lily looked unassured, but General Geun-Tae took her gently by the elbow to lead her away to where the other soldiers were constructing a tent for her. He was insisting that she should rest, and they would take care of Yona's wound. As she was led away, Lily kept tossing worried glances her way. Yona appreciated that she was so concerned for her. _She's a good friend. _

Soo-Won carried her toward the opposite side of the little encampment, where Joo-Doh was assembling the royal tent. It was modest, given the circumstances, but still exceptionally spacious and laden with comfort compared to the rest of the shelters. He held Yona in one arm as he used the other to pull back the flap and bring her inside.

"My Lord, I will see to Lady Yona's ankle." Joo-Doh's gruff voice floated in through the entryway. Yona panicked momentarily, gripping onto Soo-won; somehow, that was a worse alternative than staying with Soo-Won. The king must have picked up on her fright, or otherwise wanted to do it himself regardless, because he politely refused.

"Nonsense. I will see to Yona's wound." He gently set her down amongst the pillows and furs and straightened up. His slim fingers teased his golden-blonde locks out of his face as Joo-Doh peered through the flap.

"My Lord, I must protest-" he started, holding a roll of bandages and a damp rag.

"Protest as much as you wish, then," Soo-Won responded smoothly while taking the medical supplies from him before kneeling in front of Yona. Her face flushed as his fingers ever-so-lightly pushed the hem of her kimono away to bear her ankle freely.

"My Lord!" Joo-Doh whined. General Geun-Tae poked his head in to see what all the commotion was about and began to ogle himself. Yona blushed further, embarrassed at all the attention as well as the tender caresses of Soo-Won's hand across her ankle. His hand suddenly wrapped around the shaft of the joint, and though she would have liked to act tough, she could not stop the small, pained gasp from leaving her mouth. He looked up at her as her expression contorted into one of pain, and his eyebrows furrowed.

"J-just do it," she huffed quickly. Soo-Won narrowed his eyes further, and then suddenly, without warning, he wrenched the arrow out of her ankle with one swift jerk. Her hands immediately flew to her mouth, but the agonized scream still slipped through her fingers to fill the tent with its shrill sound. Yona had broken out in a cold sweat just from the small operation, and was panting. After the shock subsided and her nerves ceased their screeching, Yona dropped her violently shaking hands and looked down at Soo-Won. He was gently wiping the blood away with the damp rag. Though it stung, it didn't nearly as much as it could have since he was being so soft with her. Yona's eyes watched his hands as they trailed over her skin. Every brush of his fingertips sent electricity jolting up her leg, and not just from the pain. Her breath began to hitch slightly in her chest as she imagined his fingers trailing upwards, traveling up her calf and across her thigh-

Yona's face blazed redder than her hair as the scandalous thought bloomed in her head. She instinctively slapped her hands to her face to shield her blush from the men.

"Yona? Is this hurting you too much?" Soo-Won asked. The amount of concern in his voice was dangerously deceptive. _Don't let it get to you, Yona; don't let it get to you…_

"No, I'm all right…" she squeaked back in response. She peeked through her fingers as Soo-Won began to continue his work. His nimble hands wound bandages around her foot, around and around, before sealing them with an adhesive. He looked so concentrated on what he was doing, so serious, which wasn't at all like the carefree Soo-Won she remembered. Yet, that sinful part of her loved seeing him this way, so serious over her… Yona groaned inwardly as her mind insistently derailed into oblivion again. She needed to get as far away from Soo-Won as possible before things got complicated.

"Princess, is there anything else that you need?" Soo-Won asked her as he leaned back, sitting on his knees. Yona dropped her hands, aware that her face was still pink but unable to help it; Joo-Doh and Geun-Tae were still watching with brash interest. Yona was then reminded of the terrible parch in her throat, that burning gnawing from having to resist the Nadai-laden water in the prison camp.

"Water," she croaked, hating how pathetic her voice sounded. Geun-Tae brought her a canteen of water, and she unabashedly drained it to the last drop in a mere three seconds, but the cold water irritated her scratchy throat. It caught, and she jerked back, coughing with water dribbling down her front. As she hacked continuously, Soo-Won reached forward as if to help her. She instinctively scuttled backward, eyes blazing with a warning- and the mere bit of longing. His hand froze in mid-air, still reaching for her before it dropped, and he exhaled a deep sigh.

"Gentlemen, I think things are quite all right here. Miss Yona and Miss Lily are settled, so why don't you both see to yourselves? We spent a great deal of the day looking for these two, and I am sure you're tired as well." Though it was paraded as concern for their well-being, it was a very obvious insistence that the two of them be left alone. Geun-Tae seemed not to care and stepped right out, but Joo-Doh lingered for a second before giving a brief nod. The tent flap dropped down as he left, and Yona and Soo-Won were left alone within the tent.

She fidgeted anxiously, patting at the damp spot on her kimono. He gazed intently at her, and she avoided meeting his eyes. If she did, something might happen. _I need to stay focused. I still have a duty to my country. I can't let Soo-Won change that. _"Yona. Look at me."

Damn it to all hell, though she tried to resist it, his voice called her eyes like a siren song. They instantly rose to meet his, and once they did, they locked into submission. His eyes burned with the dim fire of dusk, when the sun flashed once more before being swallowed up by the horizon- a perfect compliment to her radiant irises of dawn. Yona felt an ache forming in her chest. It was undeniable; she _wanted_ him, even after all this time. She wanted him to hold her and kiss her and _love _her.

But Yona could not forgive… She could not forget.

"Soo-Won-"

"Don't worry. I don't intend to keep you here against your will. I'm sure one of your dragons will turn up eventually," came the surprisingly casual reply. His face was calm as he stared at her, but Yona was all but calm. Everything since the kiss had been such a muddled mess. She was losing herself in the ghosts of old feelings. She took a moment to respond, trying to find her way in the dense fog of her mind.

"Yes. I am sure they will. I can leave Lily in your hands," she managed finally. Silence descended between them. It lasted an agonizingly long time. Yona wanted to scream, but she was not sure what. Suddenly, Soo-Won's hand twitched, then crossed the short chasm between them to rest atop hers. Her eyes flickered down to stare at it. She wanted to hold it, and she wanted to slap it away. She just settled for sitting there.

"Yona…" His other hand was under her chin now, forcing her to look back at him. It wasn't _really_ forcing, since she did so willingly, allowing the gentle move to pull her face upwards. "Yona," he repeated, softer. His voice sent a shudder through her body, but not a disgusted one. His voice permeated every fiber of her body, ringing with a song of which she had never heard… His thumb trailed across her cheek, gently caressing the various scratches that marred her skin. "I'm sorry."

Those two words broke her like nothing had before.

"'_Sorry'?" _she choked as the tears instantly flooded from her eyes. "You don't get to say that. Not after what you did."

"Maybe I don't deserve to, but that doesn't change it from being true." She squeezed her eyes shut, the words causing her physical pain. Her fingers curled tightly into the fabric of her kimono. She wanted to believe him; _oh_, how she wanted to. But how could she forgive her father's murderer? How could just abandon how strong she had grown, alongside Hak and Yoon and her dragons, at just a few whispered words?

"_Yona_…" The way he was saying her name was driving her insane, in all meanings of the word. His hand had slipped from her face into her knotted, tousled, dawn-colored hair. She instinctively found herself leaning into it, craving the touch she wished for during her sheltered life in the castle. Now, she almost wanted it more. A soft sigh left her lips, and her eyes flickered open to meet Soo-won's. Two rising suns above oceans of tears reflecting pools of the last glimpse of sunlight before dusk. Two forces of opposition but yet completed one another.

"Soo-Won… I don't… I can't…" She couldn't even formulate words from how intensely she was feeling. He laughed dryly.

"I guess it's my fault for expecting you to still love me after that, huh?" he cocked his head to the side slightly while a sad smile ghosted his mouth. "I never wanted to hurt you, Yona. I just couldn't see this country suffer any more. You understand, don't you?" His gaze was pleading now. Yona did understand, loathe as she was to admit it. She had seen too much beyond the castle walls to argue otherwise. Soo-Won's words began to chip away at her defensive wall.

"I do, but… I can't stay with you, Soo-Won." Another breathy sigh, and this time, it was his gaze that dropped. He measured his words for a long time before looking back up at her.

"I suppose that's fair, but…" Yona's eyes widened slightly as he pushed closer to her, bringing his face to her own. She could feel the words he breathed gently across her face, "If not forever, then just for tonight?" That whispered, heat-filled question stirred that ache in Yona's chest, blooming it into a flower of hurt and passion. Her face screwed up slightly as the tears rolled in fresh waves down her cheeks, and all she could manage was a nod and a shaky inhale. Soo-Won didn't ask her for any more words, though.

His lips ghosted across hers, then settled into a concrete, passionate kiss. Yona's trembling hand reached up to curl around his while the other once more anchored itself into his robes; Soo-Won's continued to trace its was through her waves of red hair, and his other circled to the small of her back to pull her body flush against his. Her back arched into it of its own accord, because Yona could no longer really think. Her mind was captivated by the feeling of his mouth blending into hers, almost as if they belonged together. She wasn't sure how but somehow, his tongue slipped into her mouth to swirl with her own. The deep kiss made Yona intoxicated more than any drug or drink ever could; her mind was a muddled mess of complicated feelings, a swirl of hurt and love and sadness and happiness and emotions she didn't even know the name of.

He whispered her name against her lips as he pushed her backward. His blonde hair fell across her as she landed against the soft downy comforters that lined the floor, and he fell with her, not letting up the kiss for a moment. She returned his call with a desperate mewl, pawing at him as his mouth left hers to drop continuously deepening kisses across her jawline and down her neck. Her face hazed with a blush as he tugged at her kimono, loosening it a bit to allow him access to her collarbone and shoulder. Every touched struck her like lightning, leaving her tingling and trembling. Yona had never craved something like this in her entire life; she both relished it and feared it. Her desperate breaths fogged in front of her face as her eyes fluttered, struggling to stay grounded to the moment. Why had she been so adamant not to let things go like this? She had wanted this for so long… She finally had Soo-Won's love. Surely that was enough?

His mouth was against hers again. Yona returned his affections greedy, needy, hungering. His hands were everywhere, feeling her through her clothes, leaving electricity in their wake.

"Soo-Won… I l-lo-"

A polite cough froze them faster than an icy blizzard. Soo-Won's eyes were wider than the moon as he whipped around to glance over his shoulder to see Joo-Doh and Geun-Tae- and Lily, _oh no_\- in the tent with matching expressions. Yona's face blazed as reality suddenly slapped her like a mother scolding her child, and she turned her face away, unable to bear Lily's completely floored gawk. _I can't believe I let him-!_

"Do you need something?" Soo-Won asked coolly.

"Lady Lily wanted to see how Lady Yona was faring," Joo-Doh reported with equal chill. Yona side-eyed him. His face had returned to that stoic visage carved from stone. Geun-Tae now looked uncomfortable, and her friend was just staring at her in deep concern. Honestly, Yona was glad that they turned up before something… un-princess-like happened.

"Well, as you can see, she's faring quite well." As he sat up, Yona wriggled out from underneath him to sit up and, as discreetly as she could, fix her kimono. She was mortified to discover several marks across her body that had resulted from Soo-Won's intense attention. She tugged at her kimono to hide them before coughing awkwardly.

"Thank you for bandaging my ankle. I'm tired. I would like to rest now- with _Lily_," she clarified to make sure that Soo-Won knew she had no intention of carrying their sordid affair further. He looked at her, obviously saddened, but quickly regained his composure.

"Of course. Do you need help?"

Yona refused before she even tested the theory. She pushed herself up, wobbling a little but managing to concentrate most of her weight on her good leg; bearing a little pressure on her injured foot hurt considerably, but not enough to where she could not walk herself. She hobbled over to Lily, who immediately grabbed her to support her. She brushed past Soo-Won, who was just staring at the space she had just occupied. Another arrow, unseen, embedded itself into her heart as she walked past him.

No matter how much she wanted it, the dawn and the dusk simply could not exist together. It was a law of nature that Yona had to obey.

"Are you sure that you're all right, Yona?" Lily asked her quietly as she guided her to their tent. The two generals took their places as guard on other sides of the encampment. Yona exhaled sharply as she eased herself down onto the blankets, her slim hands wrapping around her ankle, which had begun to throb a little. Lily sat on her knees across from her.

"Yes. It doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did." The unasked question hung in the air like a guillotine blade, ready to slice through the thick tension between them. Yona decided just to address the issue. "It's complicated, Lily."

"I know. I just don't want you to be sad, Yona," the girl smiled comfortingly in response.

That's when Yona fell against her and cried pitifully for what she wanted but could not have.

* * *

Jae-ha came deep in the night. His soft call permeated the fabric of the back of the tent, quiet but loud enough to rouse Yona from sleep. When she felt the princess shifting around, Lily awoke with a slight fright; her head tossed about in sleepy panic until Yona gently shushed her and informed her that she was leaving. Lily stared up at her groggily, only barely registering the statement, until it finally diffused through the thick fog of sleep and clicked. She hugged Yona and insisted that she be careful, holding her for a long while, until she settled back amongst the blankets and pillows lest their conversation attract the attention of whichever general was currently on watch.

Yona drew back the flap of the tent and peered out into the night. General Geun-Tae was sitting across the clearing with his back to her, rigid as stone and seemingly unaware. She crawled out and circled the tent to see the Green Dragon warrior crouching there with that ever-smug smirk decorating his lips. Silent, he turned around to allow her to clamber onto his back. She wound her arms around his neck in a secure hold. For some reason, she glanced over her shoulder in the direction of Soo-Won's tent.

His eyes glittered as he watched her from the entrance. Her breath hitched in her throat as her heart jumped into its place, terrified he would raise the alarm. He watched her for a few seconds, then the flap flipped closed, eclipsing him from view. Yona closed her eyes, but the sad expression he had been wearing burned into her eyes. She leaned her head against Jae-ha, suddenly exhausted, while he leaped into the canopy, carrying her away from the man she loved and always would.

Above her head, the dusk was receding as dawn took its place.


	7. Jealousy

Category: Romantic Fluff

Characters: Yona, Hak

Requested By: Anonymous User

As Yona stood stoically in front of the wide window overlooking Kouka Castle's spacious courtyard, it finally struck her just how long ago that dreadful, fateful night that Soo-Won murdered her father really was. The silken, flowing pink fabric of her regal, white-trimmed and floral-patterned kimono felt foreign against her freshly washed skin, which had grown accustomed to simple cotton and a thin layer of dust and grime. Her hair, blazing with the color of the rising sun, settled in luscious shampooed waves around her face; she was so used to the crimped, knotted strands falling into her face that she still compulsively tried to sweep them out of her eyes, only to meet her forehead because the soft threads had been finally tamed into obedience and order atop her head. Even the scent of burning incense that pervaded the room felt alien, as she had grown attached to the earthy smells of forest soil and morning dew and wildflowers in her long, arduous quest for self-actualization and destiny.

The soldiers had finished practicing and conducting chores for the day, as the sun had begun to set, casting the world in its honey-golden glow. Yona had been concerned but not altogether surprised to learn that Hak had joined the Sky Tribe Army; he needed something to keep himself busy while they lingered in Kouka Castle waiting with bated breath to learn what new plot was afoot, and also needed a medium to gather intel and even possibly gather more sympathy for their cause. Yona wasn't sure this was actually what he was up to; even now, after all this time, sometimes she just couldn't tell what was happening in that raven-haired head of his. She heaved a deep sigh as she turned away from the window to sit on the small cushioned bench beside it. Yona was not technically a prisoner, but she felt as if she were one, stowed away in her tower bedroom. She missed her dragons and Yoon and most of all, Hak. It was borderline torture not having them at her side like she was so used to, smiling and laughing and so sure of themselves… Of course, Yona was never one hundred percent sure of anything since that awful night. She just kept wandering down the path that seemed to be written for her, discovering more and more as she went on… But with her trusted friends by her side, it almost, _almost_ seemed as if she had nothing to worry about at all.

Yona's ears perked as the faint sound of conversation drifted into them. She couldn't make out words, but she was almost sure that she heard Hak's deep, gravelly voice seeping through the thin walls from out in the hall. Her heart leapt in her chest with a slip of hope. Had he finally been permitted to come see her? She hopped up from the chair to hurry over to the door, cracking it ever so slightly to peer through the small crack. She didn't want to get to ahead of herself; in her melancholy state sulking over him, it was perfectly possible she had mistaken another's voice for that which she longed for. The last thing she wanted was to make a scene, parading out calling for Hak when it was in fact some lowly soldier. Word would surely get back to Kye-sook, and who knows what he would do with that information? Her rosy-red eyes flickered about the empty hall searching for him, and she sucked in a breath when she finally found the source of the muted conversation.

It _was_ Hak. Even with his back turn, Yona could never mistake him; that pin-straight back and sure posture, broad shoulders, and black hair with just the lightest bit of fluffiness… Who was he speaking too, though? Whoever it was, he towered over, so Yona could not see. Quietly, she pushed the door open a little further and stuck out her head to get a better angle; before her eyes even landed on the person, she heard the girlish giggle and high-pitched, soft voice of a woman. Her face instantly flushed a dark shade of pink. Why was Hak talking to a woman? She instantly sidetracked in the other direction; she wasn't his keeper and he could talk to whoever he pleased, why should that bother her? The woman he was speaking to was a young chambermaid, dressed in simple clothing but very pretty, with her doe-like eyes and brown hair styled in a pretty up-do with a black-and-white flower ornament for a bit of stylish flair. Yona's grip on the sliding door white-knuckled as a hot flash flared in her belly.

"Master Hak, you really shouldn't be in here… Lord Soo-Won expressly forbid any unauthorized visitors to Lady Yona's chambers…" she tutted sadly. She looked genuinely regretful, but Yona could recognize the game she was playing; plump lips pursed, body angled to accentuate her shapely hips, round eyes at first looking down and to the side at the floor then rolling her innocent gaze to the corners of her eyes to look at him thoughtfully… She was most definitely _flirting_ with Hak! Such an act made her teeth grind together with grating force. The worst part was that she couldn't just storm right out and steal Hak away. Sure, she had told him that she loved him, but circumstances had not been kind enough to hear him reciprocate. On top of that, if she made a scene, the woman would unquestionably scurry off to alert Soo-Won or Kye-Sook, and she and Hak most definitely wouldn't get to spend any time together. Loathe as she was to resign herself to the situation, Yona was forced to watch the crafty maid ogle over and blatantly flirt with Hak in the hopes that he would convince her to stay quiet.

The aggravating part about that scenario was that Hak was all but required to flirt back. From this angle, Yona could now see Hak's face. He cocked his head slightly to the side so that his dark bangs drifted over his eyes, propping one muscular arm against the wall while the other languidly rested a hand on his hip. A charming smile graced his face that made Yona's heart pound even though she wasn't the intended target… At that thought, more infuriated flame roiled in the pits of her belly. Oh, how she wished she was in that maid's place right now!

"Oh, but you won't tell anyone, will you?" His rumbling purr vibrated through Yona like an earthquake. She had always thought he had such a lovely voice, so deep and dare she say… _sexy_. Her eyes lidded as she stood captivated in that simple sentence, letting his voice flow through her like liquid gold, Yona suddenly realized that she was entering such _improper_ territory. With a silent gasp, she clapped her hand to her cheeks to find them burning hot. She was a princess! It was so unladylike to sit there and drool over anyone, much less her bodyguard; she ought to have some poise! Oh, but it was so hard, because Hak was… well, _Hak_. Her gaze instinctively drifted back to him to find the maid giggling as he twisted a lock of her hair around his index finger. "Let's just keep this our little secret, hmm?"

Yona's mouth nearly hit the floor. He had never done such a thing to _her_! It was getting more and more difficult to convince herself it was all an elaborate ruse of Hak's. He was flirting as naturally as Jae-Ha, for crying out loud! Her Hak, who would always get so flustered and blushy when anything remotely romantic happened between the two of them… And here he was, effortlessly courting this woman like it was second nature to him! It was working, too.

"Okay…" the maid agreed bashfully. "Just this once, for _you_, Master Hak…" Hak flashed her a wink, which made the girl squeal slightly and run off while clutching her heart, which was pound to be beating right out of her chest after such a display. As the girl rounded the corner, it was like a flip instantly switched in the tall man; he exhaled deeply and ran his hands through his midnight hair, shoulders sagging and muttering under his breath about what a chore that was. It was minor relief that Hak had indeed been acting, but only that. Yona was impossibly jealous. How she longed for Hak to capture her in that smoldering gaze and twist _her_ hair around his finger…

Yona gasped quietly and scampered away from the door as she registered Hak's quiet footsteps approaching. She settled herself in front of her calligraphy desk, pretending to have been working on the art form, but it was a pitiful trick; her hand was visibly trembling, making the brush bounce about and splatter black ink all over the creamy white page. As the door slid open, she scrambled to crumple up the paper and discard it as if she had erred. Back still turned, she sucked in a deep breath to attempt to steel her courage before glancing over her shoulder lazily as if she were expecting someone else. The way her eyes lit up with elation upon landing upon her beloved bodyguard was no lie, however.

"Oh, Hak! It's you!" she beamed and hopped to her feet to run over to him. He smiled softly down at her as she stopped in front of him, radiantly overjoyed.

"I finally managed to sneak in," he mused. Oh, dear, there was his purring voice again. Though for a moment Yona reveled in it, feeling it ring in her soul, she then suddenly recalled the image of him leaning over the little chambermaid with that roguish smile on his lips… and that soured any happiness she could glean from his attention. Like she had predicted, his actions with her were quite different; he was handling her like she was some fragile thing, a porcelain doll that would shatter under his touch. _But I'm not! _She protested silently. Momentarily forgetting he was even there, she crossed her arms and turned her back, fuming. _I'm no less a woman than she is… And I love him… I want him to be such a way with me, _she thought longingly, then flushed as red as her hair. That was certainly not princess-like at all. "Um, Princess… Is something the matter?"

_Oh dear! _She really had forgotten he was there, and she had put on such a bitter fit. There was no getting out of it, was there? One sordid glance over her shoulder revealed that to be true; he had a suspicious glint to his dark eyes and a firm look, the look he always had when he was going to weasel something out of someone. Yona puffed out her cheeks slightly. She'd been had, and now she'd have to own up to something so embarrassing. With a tiny sigh, she walked back over to her window bench and sat down on its soft surface, eyes trained on the floor as she suffered in the consequence of her own jealousy and impropriety.

"I saw you with the maid," she started in a low voice. She peered up through her thick lashes at him to see his face dusted with pink.

"Oh, that? That was just so she wouldn't go running her mouth!" he cried quickly with his hands raised placatingly.

"I know," she reassured him before he could start tumbling apologies out of his mouth. He breathed a deep sigh of relief and then looked at her inquisitively, now unsure what the conversation was leading to. "I know it was only so you could come see me, but… I'm still… jealous…" Which each successive word, her voice grew tinier and tinier, until it had the volume of a small mouse's squeak. Her hands kneaded nervously into the fabric of her dress. Oh, surely he would laugh at her now. Once more, she peeked up at him to gauge his reaction. Instead of amusement, she found curiosity crossing his fine features instead.

"Oh? _Jealous_?" Though she wouldn't have thought it possible, Yona's face blazed darker than her sunrise hair at the undeniably mischievous grin that flashed across his face. Yona gulped as he crossed the room in only a few steps thanks to his long stride to stop right in front of her and crouch down; she tried to hide her face by ducking her head down, only for his large hand to catch her underneath her chin and force her to look up at him. Yona wasn't sure if she was glad or mortified to have admitted the truth, because the situation was spiraling out of control so rapidly that it made her head spin and her breath hard to catch. "Imagine that. Princess Yona _jealous_ over just a little fake flirting." Yona squirmed in his iron grip. She wasn't sure how she wanted the exchange to go but this was certainly _not_ it. He chuckled under his breath and let her face go. She made to jump up and run away, but what he did next rooted her to the spot. "So, you'd like it if I did this, huh?" His voice was soft now; there was no teasing tone but one of genuine wonder. Yona's red eyes were wide but unseeing as he twisted a lock of her rosy-red hair around his index finger. _Just like… Just like he did __**her**__… _

Hak then blushed bright pink and jerked his hand back to cover his face. "Th-there, you happy now?!" he grumbled as his eyes looked everywhere but at her. She blinked, coming out of her daze, and then giggled. _That's my Hak. _Though she certainly didn't dislike the man he had been a moment ago, she much preferred him… just him, no flirtation or suave demeanor- her shy, bumbling Hak.

"Hehe," she began to giggle until she was doubled over, holding her belly and laughing. Hak stared at her wide-eyed in utter disbelief throughout her entire fit, right up until she sat up wiping a few tears from her eyes. "Hak, you're so funny!" Why had she even been jealous in the first place? That woman was no threat to her in the slightest…

"Are you making fun of me?!" he whined loudly as he sat back on his behind with a loud sigh. He scratched his head as a completely defeated but amused smirk came upon his face. "Man… I just can't win with you, can I?" Yona shook her head with a small laugh and leaned forward slightly, smiling warmly.

"It's not that. I just realized that I didn't have to be jealous at all." He continued to give her that bemused look.

"No… No, you don't. I only have eyes for you, after all." He said it so naturally, so softly. Though it wasn't the husky whisper she had heard from him earlier, it almost had an even stronger effect; an electrical pulse shuddered through her body, making her flush warm from head to toe and her heart spin into overdrive. Once again, he reached for her hair, but this time threaded his fingers through the strands to gently hold the side of her head. "Only you," he echoed again, even softer than before. Yona smiled as she felt herself ready to cry of joy. Her hand rose to cover his and she leaned into his touch.

"Thank you, Hak…" His adoring gaze continued to warm her to her core, until suddenly he tore it away from her, looking at the door. He didn't have to say anything to her for her to know. "You have to go, don't you?" The disappointment in her voice was palpable.

"The guards will be making their rounds soon. I wouldn't want to completely ruin my chances of paying you another visit," he looked back at her with a small smirk. Still holding his hand to her face, Yona wrestled with letting it go; she knew it was for the best, considering the uncertainty of everything right now, but she just missed so badly having Hak constantly at her side. "I'll come back as soon as I can… I promise." Yona let the tears slip down her cheeks and obediently dropped her hand. Instead of falling as well, his hand lingered a moment in her hair like the dawn, then slipped down to her cheek to catch some of the watery droplets rolling down. From the way his muscles tensed in his arms, she knew that he was going to pull back and disappear into the night.

Yona wanted just one last thing, one last reassurance.

She jumped forward to crash her lips against his, smothering his gasp of alarm and shock. Her hand landed against his broad chest, feeling the tension in the muscles fibers there, then the way they slowly relaxed as he melted with her. His hand traveled to the back of her head as he angled his own, wresting control from her and moving his lips in a passionate rhythm that stole Yona's breath away. They kissed like that for several minutes, deeply, desperately, until he pulled back from her with a small sigh. "I really have to go," he said with an apologetic expression. Yona nodded and sat back up straight.

"I know… I'll be waiting." He smiled wryly and took her hand to gently press a kiss on top of it. The area tingled with electricity long after his lips ceased to brush over it.

"Until then… Princess." And then he was gone, the sliding door closing behind him and his footsteps rapidly retreating down the hall. Yona exhaled deeply and looked once more out the window down at the courtyard, which was now bathed in the light of the pale moon.

_Until then… Hak… _Just thinking of him made her heart begin to flutter like autumn leaves tossed about in the wind, chasing away the dull settled that had pervaded her now that she was once more alone. Even if he was not by her side physically, she knew he was there in spirit, watching over her… Because he had eyes only for her, just like Yona had eyes only for him.

She had nothing to be jealous of. Nothing at all.


	8. Whatever May Come

Category: General Fluff

Characters: Yona, Soo-Won, Zeno, Jae-Ha, Shin-Ah, Kija

Requested By: Yiren (Ao3)

Yona breathed a small sigh of relief and sank back into her throne seated beside Soo-Won's as the harrowing Dragon Festival finally came to its conclusion. She knew that her dragons were only being paraded around for a political agenda, and she knew they were all strong and capable, but even they had their limits; though the fighting had concluded with only minor injuries, she still knew they were spent (and hurt) and that left her with lingering anxiety. She turned her head to her left to see that Soo-Won had already vacated his seat to go mingle, most likely to congratulate the two Generals on their victories. Yona pursed her lips slightly, remembering how the crowd had been so gleefully cheering about their supposed engagement. Yona had no idea what Soo-Won was planning… and that disquieted her, greatly.

Yona rose from her seat to be escorted by the Sky Tribe soldiers down from the arena bleachers to the preparation tents. She was about to indicate that they should just take her back to her room until she heard Geun-Tae's loud, booming voice mixed with Soo-Won's light, carefree yet somehow authoritarian tone. The Earth Tribe official was seemingly congratulating Soo-Won on their engagement as well. She sniffed haughtily; did everyone just assume that they were now an item simply because they were seated next to one another? This debacle was sure to throw kinks on Yona's cause to riddle out the complicated political environment of her home country and get to the bottom of the deadly night between Soo-Won and her deceased father… Abandoning the soldiers, whom she ignored as they scrambled about squeaking that Yona should not enter a tent unannounced, she marched right over to where the voices where emanating from.

"Oh. Hello, Princess Yona," Geun-Tae blinked in confusion as she literally stormed onto the scene- with all the grace and poise of a regal princess, of course. She dipped her head politely then straightened up to eye him like a hawk, until her red eyes were captured by the small-statured woman hovering next to him with a swaddled baby in her arms. Yona instantly brightened, because like many other people her age, she was not immune to the delicate charm of a baby. Her dawn-colored eyes sparkled with wonder as they beheld the little child, and the mother and father both took notice with matching amused smirks. "Would you like to come closer?" Geun-Tae offered. Yona nodded eagerly and scampered over to lean over the baby, gasping in pure delight.

It was the cutest thing she had ever seen. Its cheeks were rosy-pink like the freshest of carnations, with plump little lips and doll-like eyes that peered up at her with similar enrapture. Its tiny hands grasped at the cozy blanket wrapped snugly around it, little wee fingers no bigger than mere garden worms, and atop its head was a fluffy tuft of hair. Yona giggled and wave at the baby, earning a delighted smile and endearing coo from the baby. She looked up at Geun-Tae with a positively radiant smile.

"What a beautiful baby!"

"Thank you," his wife responded jovially. She happened to look over at Soo-Won, who was watching her with soft eyes and an ever softer smile, and Yona immediately flushed red.

"What have you come here for, Yona?" the king asked languidly after a second. Stiffening because she really had no other reason for charging in besides asserting her dominance, she searched her mind frantically for a viable excuse.

"I-I want to see my dragons," she arrived at finally. It wasn't even a lie, either; she had not been permitted to visit them since their arrival in Hiryuu Castle, and she desperately wanted to survey Jae-Ha's and Kija's wounds for their severity. Being locked away in her bedroom with no contact with them was as close to torture as she could ever get, even worse than her imprisonment with Lilli. To her great relief, Soo-Won dipped his head in a courteous nod.

"Very well."

* * *

What Yona was _not_ anticipating was that the entirety of Soo-Won's council would have to go with her. The king, as well as Geun-Tae, Joo-Doh, and Kye-Sook, all accompanied her to the quarters where her beloved companions were being housed for the duration of their alliance. Yona's lips were pursed in a very obvious pout, because although her top priority was ensuring that her dragons were safe and being well-tended, she also desperately wanted to discuss things that most definitely needed to be deliberated well out of Soo-Won's ear shot. Unfortunately, there was nothing for that. She announced her arrival and slid open the sliding door to be immediately greeted by Zeno's giddy smile and open arms.

"Princess! Zeno missed you!" he trilled with sheer elation as he jumped at her to envelop her in a tight hug. Yona laughed lightly, already cheered by his bubbly personality, and lovingly rubbed the top of his blonde-haired head. Not a moment later, Ao came skittering across the floor to climb her dress and sit chittering on her shoulder, to which she responded by using her index finger to stroke his soft brown fur. To her amazement, however, he soon abandoned his perch to leap the distance between herself and Soo-Won, clawing up his robes to sit on _his_ shoulder instead. The long-haired king looked in bewilderment at the tiny creature which had set up camp on his shoulder before blinking and tapping the top of its head repeatedly in an affectionate gesture. All four of the dragons and Yona were all staring it uncontained shock at Ao's seeming indifference to, and daresay approval of, Soo-won. After reveling in the pets being showered down upon him, the chipmunk hopped down to run back over to Shin-Ah, who scooped him up and stroked his striped back.

Yona crossed the room to sit in the space between Jae-Ha and Kija, who were lying on their backs swathed in bandages and wearing identical embarrassed grins on their face.

"Are you two all right?" she asked them worriedly. Jae-Ha smirked and gave her a dismissive wave of his hand, while Kija nodded eagerly and asserted, "Of course!" It wasn't very convincing as he cringed and grabbed at one of the areas that was covered with binding. Yona inhaled deeply, then exhaled even deeper; all these boys of hers, they were all so reckless and overdoing it all the time… A small smile crossed her lips as she stared down at them both with nothing short of pure love. She would never have it any other way, though. She turned her head as Soo-Won crossed the room to seat himself a fair distance away from her. Geun-Tae and the others settled themselves against the wall, arms crossed and watching their interactions with interest.

"Your performances today were very riveting to watch. I appreciate you two giving it your all out there. I trust your injuries aren't giving you too much trouble?" Soo-Won smiled innocently. Jae-Ha and Kija exchanged side-eyed glances before the both of them sat up, the blankets falling around their bare waists. Jae-Ha was confidence incarnate, smirking as he ran a hand through his jade-green hair.

"Of course. This is nothing!" His beaming smile was laced with challenge. Kija, on the other hand, was blushing lightly as he looked off to the side and tried to seem unbothered.

"Indeed. Yoon is very talented at what he does. We're in good hands," he answered calmly. Yona heaved another small sigh; their dislike and mistrust of Soo-Won was certainly palpable. To the king's credit, he maintained an entirely unperturbed aura, nodding eagerly as if he we very relieved at their pending swift recoveries. The two of them suddenly looked to the princess.

"With the princess here, we're liable to recover even faster, right, Kija~" purred Jae-Ha suggestively with a wink at the bashful white dragon. Yona giggled; she had come to miss even his unabashed flirtatious jibes. Kija fidgeted and clawed at the sheets nervously, already sweating. He stammered some quiet mumble that made Jae-Ha laugh heartily in victoriously embarrassing him, and Yona smiled at the two of them. She could almost fool herself into thinking that things were the same… but as she eyed the three military officials out of the corners of her eyes, she was sadly aware that it was not. Yona was currently sitting behind Kija and Jae-Ha such that their broad, strong backs were to her. With a small, stifled sob, she suddenly lunged forward to wrap her arms around them and pull them both two her. She had her head down to hide the tears brimming in the corners of her eyes, but she could feel their surprised glances boring into the crown of her head.

"You two… Please don't overdo it, okay?" she asked in a hushed whisper. She managed to force back the tears and looked up at them with a small, broken smile. "You know that I couldn't stand… to be without any of you." Kija instantly went as red as a basket of tomatoes and began gasping reassuring remarks like a fish flopping about on water, while Jae-Hae managed to maintain his collected composure, though the blush dusting his cheeks betrayed him. Zeno jumped at her from behind to wrap his arms around her middle and nuzzle her shoulder affectionately, and Shin-ah even came up to her to stroke her dawn-colored hair soothingly. The importance of her words was not lost on Soo-Won, who was staring at her with wide eyes, but Geun-Tae seemed to miss it.

"Ah! Look at how he's blushing! Eh, do you have a crush on the princess, Whitey?" he guffawed good-naturedly as he crossed his arms and threw his head back in laughter. Joo-Doh and Kye-Sook seemed largely unamused in comparison.

"I-I do not!" Kija gasped, abhorred and giving the Earth Tribe General an affronted look. Jae-Hae smirked wryly and leaned forward to peer teasingly into his face.

"Oh? How unbecoming of you, Kija, I thought you were supposed to be the princely one, and yet here you are getting handsy with the princess…" When Yona had hugged him, he had reached around her back to settle his hand reassuringly in the middle of it, the perfect place to be proper, but with a hiss he hastily retracted his hand. Jae-Ha began laughing raucously until he suddenly sucked in a sharp breath and grasped at his chest, having tweaked his wounds.

"Serves you right!" Kija snorted in derision. The room burst into raucous laughter, but from the way they were all looking at her from the corners of their eyes with small smiles, she knew that her sentiment had gotten across. She just wanted them to be careful, because she had no idea of what was to come. She let the two go as they continued to squabble with one another, finally breathing easy. _My strong, capable dragons… Whatever happens, we'll get through it together. _As she opened her eyes to look across the room, Soo-Won was still staring so intently at her. She had no idea what was running through his mind at the moment… Ever since that dreadful night, she really had no idea what he was thinking or plotting at any given time. Not even an inkling…

She cried out in alarm as she suddenly heaved a large sneeze. All the conversation in the room ceased as she abruptly began sneezing in rapid succession, hands held up at her body rocked back and forth with the force of the gales leaving her body. _I- What? What's wrong with me all of a sudden?! _She thought wildly on about her fifth sneeze. Had a sudden draft brought dust in the room? She was too busy ailing in sneezes to notice that Soo-Won had gotten up and crossed the room; when she finally stopped and rubbed at her nose with her sleeve pitifully, her head was suddenly jerked upwards so Soo-Won could press his forehead to hers. She stared owlishly at him for a moment, and then her face turned the color of her hair.

"Eh?"

"Sneezing like that, surely you have a fever," he mumbled. Jae-Hae and Kija were sitting on either side of her, both staring at him slack-jawed at the very intimate display. Soo-Won straightened up and shrugged out of his outer layer of robes, spinning them around to delicately drape them over Yona's comparably small shoulders. Still reeling in shock so hard that her vision was spinning a little, she looked at the three soldiers to find them all wearing the various stages of grief on their expressions- Geun-Tae looked confused, Kye-Sook seemed like he was angry, and Joo-Doh was stony-faced but his body posture implied that he was already on the tail end of the spectrum of emotion. Yona flushed further. Soo-Won had checked her temperature that way since they were both very little, and it just saddened her greatly, because now, it was under such different circumstances… As she looked down at the wooden floor miserably, drawing the robes around her with one hand, his hand suddenly appeared in her field of view. "Princess, you may be falling ill, so you should probably return to your quarters so you can be tended to." Yona wanted to argue that she felt just fine and she wanted to sit there with her dragons, but that just wouldn't do, she knew. With a small sigh, she took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

"Do you have to go?" Zeno sulked with watery eyes as he scampered over and hugged her arm. She forced a sweet smile on her face and leaned forward to nuzzle his cheek, like he so often did her.

"Don't worry. I'll be back very soon. Take good care of the others, okay?" Zeno nodded eagerly and raised a hand to his forehead in a salute, making her chuckle. She really couldn't be down for long with his sunshiney personality so bright and uplifting. Yona bore farewell to the others- and Ao- before Soo-Won accompanied her back out, followed by his entourage. Silence settled between them as they walked alongside each other, with his robes about her shoulders dragging behind her because they were simply too big.

"What are you planning, Soo-Won?" she asked him finally as they arrived at the door to her chambers. She rounded on him with an almost feral ferocity, face hardened like the mountainside. He looked down at her levelly, betraying nothing at all.

"'Planning'? Nothing at all. I'm just seeing… what will become of all this," he answered cryptically before bowing his head lightly to her. "Goodnight, Yona," he murmured softly. It was the two of them alone, as the others had split off as soon as they had entered the castle proper, and when he looked back up at her his eyes were glimmering with something she couldn't name. She instinctually went to shrug out of the robes to return them to him, but he held up a hand in refusal. "Keep them." He whirled on his heel and off he went, with Yona's perplexed gaze trailing after him. She lingered there in the doorway for a moment, simply wondering…

_What __**will **__become of all this? Of us? _Herself, her dragons, Yoon, Hak, even her country as a whole. She didn't have the answer to that, and that revelation made her shrink into herself, Soo-Won's robes swallowing her deeper like they were drawing her into false security. For the first time since her father died, Yona felt truly alone and defenseless.

The smiling faces of her dragons, Hak, Yoon, and all her other friends she had made along the way flashed before her waking eyes, bringing the tiniest of smiles to her faces as reassurance flooded through her quivering body. No, Yona was never alone, and never defenseless.

Not when she had so many people behind her. Whatever was to come, Yona would face it all with an army at her back… And that was the most reassuring thought in the world. Smiling despite it all, she retreated into her room, dropping the robes at the doorway as the setting sun gleamed from the window. The sun set, but yet she still blazed as brightly at the dawning sun.

It was _far_ from over.


	9. The King and the Warrior

_**Author's Note: **__Hi all! This collection now has a Spotify playlist. If you have time, please search the playlist name provided in the index page on Spotify. Unfortunately, you cannot post clickable links in stories :c PM if you have trouble finding it!_

Category: Hurt and Comfort

Characters: Son Hak, Soo-Won

Requested By: farrah87 (Ao3)

Soo-Won gasped as he twitched awake. His eyes shot open, and the ceiling above him blurred into an abstract painting of grey-brown streaks before reforming into the arranged slats and support beams. Exhaling deeply, he ran a hand through his disarrayed locks of pale hair to find them clumped together with sweat. He knew not what he had been dreaming about but also knew: King Il, saying such harsh words with that sickeningly fake smile on his face. Staring up at the ceiling while he struggled in the aftermath of the nightmare, it took him a moment to realize that this was not in fact _his_ bedroom.

Once aware of that fact the recent events flood back into his short-term memory, and his face flushed rose. He was now also very aware of a small body pressed slightly against him, and there was no guesswork needed to know who that was. He stiffly turned his head, the bright flash of red hair in the moonlight the only answer he required. Yona's face was soft and calm as she dozed beside him, her hands nestled by her face with her body curled like a little caterpillar in its cocoon. He smiled gently. How could such a strong, willful person like Yona still be so vulnerable and innocent-looking? With a troubled hum, he gently stroked his sweat-streaked fingers down the side of her face, leaving three thin lines of the salty solution glistening on her otherwise unmarred skin. Even after everything, she had still been unable to leave his side in his feverous stupor.

How cruel the world was.

Hak's footsteps were muffled by the thick carpet that lined the halls of Kouka Castle as he strode purposefully through the dark. At least, his body had purpose, but his mind didn't; technically he was not supposed to be wandering the halls at this time of night, as Soo-Won and his ilk would find it quite suspect, but Hak righteously didn't care. He couldn't sleep, and he was never the type to lay in the sheets trying to will himself into slumber. If his body had energy to dissipate, then he took a walk to do so, simple as that.

Hak's eyes narrowed as he spied a silhouette shuffling at the end of the hallway. As it passed by a window, the moonlight spilling in illuminated the form of Soo-Won himself. Hak hastily hid behind a pillar, just barely peering beyond its rounded edge to watch the meandering king. What was he doing wandering around at this hour? Surely he was up to something… The king was alone, for once. Hak's fists curled into tight balls; he clenched them so hard that his knuckles glared as white as the surface of the moon hanging low in the dark night sky. Now was the perfect opportunity to interrogate Soo-Won for a multitude of things that had been bothering Hak for a great long while.

Before he could step out from behind the pillar, however, the sound of frantically falling footsteps froze him on the spot. He hurriedly hid himself completely behind the stone structure at Minsoo called softly out to the young king.

"Your Majesty!" The young boy's breath came in slight gasps from his feverish run. Hak edged his face beyond the pillar, watching with hawk-like eyes as he stopped in front of Soo-Won, holding a hand over his chest as he caught his breath. "Ah, there you are. You weren't in your chambers, so I went looking for you. You cannot be wandering around at this hour by yourself! What if you were to collapse?" Hak's eyebrows quirked at the interesting tidbit of information. Collapse? Was Soo-Won recovering from some sort of wound? Or… Hak remembered vaguely that Soo-Won's mother had died at a young age, presumably from some sort of illness, though it was all very hush-hush. Could it be possible that Soo-Won had inherited his mother's frail disposition and was going to suffer the same fate?

Hak would've expected that he would've felt vindicated or triumphant. Instead, he felt the cold, slow flood of fear and concern seeping into the cells of his body, leaving him with a numb, tingling feeling. Something about Soo-Won being dead unsettled him, even now, after all that had happened… He put a hand to his face as it twisted into a mixture between a dismayed look and an irritated frown. Now was not the time to get into his feelings; he needed to listen to this conversation to learn all he could about the current state of affairs. "Princess Yona was looking for you… She awoke and you were gone. She was very disturbed by you collapsing from fever…"

A blaze of pink flared over Hak's face. He passed out right in front of Yona? She had probably come to the same conclusion that he had, and that was dangerous knowledge for the princess to possess. No doubt, Soo-Won's advisors were going to lay down even harsher sanctions on her. _This is turning out to be a bigger mess than I imagined, _he thought, belly heavy with foreboding.

"I needed some fresh air, that's all. I am feeling much better. Please go tell Yona that I will return shortly. You may retire for the night, Minsoo. I'm quite all right." Minsoo looked like he wished to argue, but it wasn't like he was in any position to do so. Instead, he respectfully bowed his head before scurrying off in the direction of the princess' quarters. Immediately, Soo-Won sighed deeply and leaned his shoulder against the castle wall, one hand threaded through his long blonde hair in a gesture of stress. Hak remained unseen behind the pillar for a moment, considering his options. If Kye-Sook and the others learned of how much Hak knew, it would be bad for him, and asking Soo-Won anything was likely to worsen any potential consequences… But, it wasn't like Hak was the least bit threatened by the lot of them. There were things he wanted to know.

"Soo-Won."

"Hello, Hak," Soo-Won responded dully as the knight stepped out from behind the pillar to walk toward him. The king glanced wearily over his shoulder with that stupid smile that prevented Hak from knowing what his scheming mind was thinking. Hak stopped a few paces short of him. "What an expression on your face." Hak was sure it was quite an expression. His conflicted hate for Soo-Won was so strong that it was guaranteed to be written all over his stony face anytime they interacted. He was glaring so hard his face actually hurt, but he really couldn't help it.

"What does Minsoo mean? What are you recovering from?"

"That's none of your concern."

"It damn well is my concern. You kill King Il to take the throne, and go and die less than a year later? What the hell are you plotting?" he snarled savagely. The smirk fell from Soo-Won's face, morphing his visage into a blank, unreadable expression. It pissed Hak off to no end. He clenched his teeth, baring them like a wild dog, as he tightened his fists at his side. "… Did you do it just because you think King Il killed Lord Yu-Hon?"

Soo-Won's eyes widened for a brief second before falling back into that uninterested lidded stare. He turned his head to face away from Hak, preventing him completely from reading his expression, as if he could anyway. Silence settled between them. "Well? Answer me!"

"Whether or not that is true has no bearing on anything." Hak growled and jerked forward, foot stomping into the carpet.

"Of course it does! I just can't figure you out! What are you doing all this for? Why did you hurt Princess Yona? I swear, if you hurt her any more, I'll-!" Hak stopped short as Soo-Won pushed himself off from the wall only to start wobbling precariously, like his was inebriated. Reflexively, Hak surged forward to catch him under his arms as he fell, and Soo-won's head flopped to the side against his chest. Beneath the strands of long blonde hair covering his face, Hak could see the deathly white pallor of his sunken cheeks. _He really is… Sick… _he thought dumbly, just staring at Soo-Won as he rasped unevenly.

"Hak…" He groaned suddenly. The warrior stiffened, not sure what to say, before replying with a soft and gruff, "Yeah?" "Please take care of her… of Yona… I can't die… just yet… I still have… something I need to do…" He forced the words out between heaving inhales, clearly struggling to remain conscious long enough to deliver his message. As soon as the last syllable left his lips, he breathed out deeply before collapsing completely, his full weight sinking against Hak's body. Hak's expression was now the unreadable one as he stared down at the unconscious man in his arms. Soo-Won was vulnerable. Helpless. There was so much Hak could do with that…

But to what end?

"Idiot," he grumbled as he hoisted Soo-Won up into his arms. The man was lighter than he ought to be. Soo-Won's hair was already beginning to stick to his forehead with the sheen of sweat growing there. "You'd better not die, not until you tell me just what the hell has been going on." His footfalls seemed heavier and louder as he carried the ill king down the hallway to Yona's room. He slid the wooden door open with his foot, prompting a slight gasp from the princess, who was seated on her knees amongst tousled blankets and pillows. He paused in the doorway as her dawn-colored eyes wobbled in the dark, swimming with more emotions that Hak could ever name. Then, silently, she stood to rearrange the blankets and gesture for Hak to carry Soo-Won over. He did so, crouching down to gently deposit him in the bed. Yona pulled the covers up to his chin, sitting on his opposite side and gazing miserably down at his now flushed face.

"What's going to happen to him, Hak?"

"I dunno," he answered honestly. He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. He hated that he didn't know, but there was no lie convincing enough that he could tell her. His dark eyes met hers, round and soft and brimming with tears. With a small sigh, he pushed himself back to his feet and walked around the sleeping Soo-Won to sit beside her, pulling her little body into a reassuring embrace. Her face buried into the fabric of his robes while her fingers clutched it like a lifeline, and the thick material muffled her already quiet sobs. He laid his cheek against the top of her head while releasing a deep, shaky sigh.

When was the last time anything had been right in their lives? It seemed like an eternity. His black eyes flickered down to Soo-Won's face, which was screwed up in discomfort. _… You'd better fix it, you bastard. Fix it __**all**__. In the meantime… I will protect her with my life. _


	10. Heard

Category: Hurt and Comfort, General Fluff

Characters: Yona, Zeno, Jae-ha, Shin-ah, Kija

Requested by: Snow3bunny

Yona's lips pursed slightly as she inspected herself in the body-length mirror propped against the wall of her bedroom. The long sleeves of her pastel-pink dress flapped down against the floor as she compulsively smoothed down the flower-patterned fabric of the garment; it was reflexive, really, because she could care less about the dress. The real problem lie with the puffy redness and dark black rings around her eyes that was indicative of her sleepless nights. Yona had been trying hard to take advantage of her new freedoms, but despite her best efforts, she was no closer to understanding Soo-Won and his plans than ever. Then there was the matter of Soo-Won potentially dying in the near future; Yona still hated him for murdering her father, but she be damned if she still didn't harbor some sort of feelings for the man. What those were, she was not quite sure anymore, but regardless she still did not look upon his demise positively. Her frustrations had manifested into fierce insomnia and quite a few bitter crying spells. Yona wouldn't mind simply strolling around the castle in such a condition, because she could care less what everyone else thought…

But she didn't want her beloved dragons to see her in such a wretched state.

Somehow, Yona had finally convinced the king to allow her an audience with them. They would be along in any minute, escorted by Minsoo. Tossing her sunset hair over her shoulders, she took a deep breath and then released it. _You must stay strong, Yona. These problems are nothing. Be happy for your dragons! You don't want them to worry about you! _She practiced a smile in the mirror, trying to mold the most convincing fake she could. Try as she may, her eyes continued to remain cold and lifeless. She just hoped that her act would be convincing enough.

"Princess Yona! The dragons are here to see you- Yoon, too," came Minsoo's cheerful voice. Plastering that sickly saccharine smile on her face, Yona whirled on her feet to greet them, and-

Immediately, she began crying.

She hadn't meant to. All it took was Jae-ha flashing her that crooked smile, and the façade crumbled like a castle wall under the assault of a cannonade. How could she ever hope to lie to her dragons? She couldn't bear the weight of this cross by herself. She was so desperate for comfort, for consoling, for them to be her confidantes that it made her soul scream in agony. She couldn't say anything, though. Yona already knew far too much; it was only thanks to Soo-Won that her life wasn't in danger. She didn't believe that the same courtesy would extend to her beloved friends. As a sob cracked her body, she surged forward to all but leap into a very puzzled Jae-ha's arms.

"Y-yona?"

She buried her tear-streaked face into the soft fabric of his clothes. His body was tense at first, but gradually relaxed to embrace her fully, his arms enclosing around her in a gentle hug. "Don't cry. We've missed you, too." Yona's red eyes blinked blearily up at him to see him smiling softly down at her, but the hard edge to his face belied the truth behind his words; he was pretending that this was the issue at hand, but he knew that Yona would not shed tears over something like that.

"Ah, Princess!" Minsoo smiled sweetly as he stood beside her and tentatively reached out to rub small, rhythmic circles into the spot between her shoulder blades. "It's all better now, right? There's no need to be sad." His words screwed into her heart like a serrated knife. No. No, he knew better than that. "I'll leave you with your friends for a while, okay?" As he turned to leave, Yona caught his wrist in a firm, knuckle-whited grip.

"Minsoo. You need to tell Hak. Tell him about Soo-Won." All the blood immediately drained from his face and he looked frantically at the door, as if he were expecting guards to come charging through. "Minsoo!"

"Princess!" he hissed and jumped forward such that their faces were closed. His eyebrows were knitted together in an expression of deep worry, nearly mania. "Please! Princess Yona, you mustn't say anymore!" he begged, then dropped his voice into a hushed whisper. "Hak is very special to you, I know. It is for that very reason that you mustn't put him in a dangerous position by telling him anything! Surely that is what His Majesty wants too, because even still, Hak is the person that he trusts most." Yona bit down hard on her lip. Little beads of blood bubbled up beneath the points of her canines- but she did not fight him. Deep down, she knew it was the truth, but it hurt so _badly_ to keep this secret, especially from Hak. Minsoo studied her face for a moment, and when he was content that Yona had no more intentions to babble, he sighed heavily and straightened up. "Now then… I will leave you all alone for a while, yes?" His gaze shifted guiltily down to his feet. Yona felt guilty, too. She knew it must be hurting him to have to tell her things she didn't want to hear.

"Thank you, Minsoo," she mumbled before resuming her respite in the folds of Jae-ha's clothes. She did not retract even after the door shut behind the aide. Her fingers twisted into the soft textile as she sniffled quietly into his chest. She knew. She knew she ought not saying anything, but her heart felt so heavy carrying this burden all alone. Yona was bitter about it, too. She should be strong enough to hold this secret, for all their sakes, but she was not. Had she not grown at all throughout her arduous journey? She felt like she had traveled back to _that_ night, when she had been so helpless and scared and _powerless_.

At this point, the dragons and Yoon had gathered around her, confused as to what exactly was ailing her.

"We're so glad to see you," Kija chimed good-naturedly from her left. She nodded miserably into Jae-ha.

"I missed you all so much," came her muffled reply.

"Yona? What's the matter?" Shin-ah asked softly as he reached out to awkwardly play with the curled ends of her red hair. Yona whimpered into the green-haired man. She wouldn't say. She couldn't say!

"Princess, if you don't talk to us, we can't help you," Yoon cajoled her, and he almost coaxed her into talking just with how soft and inviting his voice was. Yona insistently shook her head back and forth, a red mark appearing on her forehead where it chafed against Jae-ha's clothes.

"I can't say!"

"All right, all right, let it be," Jae-ha barked and pulled her into a tighter hug. "We don't need to put her in a bad position."

"Miss, did something happen to Mister King Guy?" Zeno guessed suddenly.

"What did I just say?!" Jae-ha griped. Yona's body went entirely rigid against him, and she silently begged Zeno to say no more.

"He looked really pale on our walk yesterday," the childlike blonde continued recklessly. Her red eyes glared at him through the shadows of Jae-ha's arms enfolding her. He tilted his head back as he tapped the pad of his index finger against his chin. "Is he si-"

"No!" she shrieked, twisting in Jae-ha's arm so she could clamp her hand down hard over his mouth. His eyes stared owlishly above her hand, slowly blinking in realization. "Don't say it," she pleaded tearfully. "_Don't_ say it." A collective sigh filled the room. He hadn't said it, but they all realized what was happening just by her reaction. Yoon wriggled his way underneath Jae-ha's toned bicep to hug her close.

"Oh, Princess… You must have such a weight upon your shoulders…" Ao hopped off of Shin-ah's shoulder onto hers and nuzzled her furry face affectionately against her cheek. Yona's bottom lip wobbled as tears brimmed at the lids of her eyes again, then spilled over to roll down her cheeks and bleed into Jae-ha's sleeves. Shin-ah began stroking her hair softly, while Kija bobbed about trying to be encouraging but also freaking out a little.

Despite herself, Yona smiled and pressed her face back into Jae-ha. She really should have controlled her emotions better, but despite any impending consequences, Yona felt like she had just been freed of fifty pounds of iron shackles. She hadn't said anything, because she really hadn't needed to. Her trusted friends knew her better than anyone, after all. They heard her loud and clear. Eyes closing as she nestled into Jae-ha's comforting warmth, Hak's face danced in the blackness of her vision.

_Hak… What will we do? Soo-Won… is going to die. I don't know what's to become of me, and you, and Yoon, and my dragons… I don't know what to do. I'm lost without you, Hak… _

_I need you… _

Hak was far, far out of her reach, no matter how much she wished it weren't so. Yet, it didn't sadden her as much as she would have thought. In the arms of her beloved, brave, kind dragons, Yona felt they were all untouchable, at least for a few, brief, treasured moments…


	11. Heard Part II

Category: Hurt and Comfort, Mild Romantic Fluff

Characters: Yona, Hak, Jae-Ha

Requested by: Snow3bunny (Ao3)

Hak absentmindedly twirled his weapon in a circle in his hands as he sat hunched on the steps leading to the grand palace doors. Before him, the rain pattered steadily over the stone walkway and garden grass; it had been raining heavily for about an hour now, and the water had begun to saturate the courtyard, forming an inch-thick layer of liquid over the ground's surface. Hak had been restless in his room, and so he had meandered out into the night to watch the rain fall from the heavens. It was soothing, but not soothing enough; he could not shake that prickling at the base of his neck, those waves of shivers that made goosebumps rise across his skin and adrenaline sing in his veins- that feeling that something was wrong. Hak's instincts were tempered steel and made very few mistakes; if he was reading the atmosphere of the castle accurately, his very soul scenting the minute change in the air like a prized bloodhound, then something was most assuredly afoot. However, he had no idea what, nor how to figure that out.

He was almost certain, however, that it had to do with the princess.

His hand snapped around the staff of his weapon as loud splashing resounded amidst the consistent pebbling of the raindrops. One splash, then another, then another, and then there he was, the green-haired dragon with that damn smug smirk he always wore on his long face. Hak narrowed his eyes as he appeared before him but resumed lackadaisically twirling the weapon around now that it was apparent there was no threat.

"Out for a midnight walk? You'll catch cold like that, dragon or no," he scoffed, propping his elbow on his knee so that he could lean his cheek into his hand. Jae-ha's mouth curled further into a leer, but Hak tensed when he saw the dullness in his normally mischievous eyes. He could see it in the lines in his face; something was up. "What is it?" he asked, straightening up to stare at him intently.

"It's Yona." Nightmarish scenarios immediately began flashing through Hak's mind and he captured the staff in a white-knuckled grip as a cold flush blasted through every vein in his body. "She's very upset," he added quickly before Hak could devolve to quickly into mania. His dripping jade green hair flopped around his shoulders as he took hasty looks around, before he hurriedly stalked over to Hak and held a hand up to cover his mouth as he murmured, "Something is wrong with the king, apparently. She's tight-lipped about it; no doubt, it's something that can easily get you and Yoon killed." Hak's mania had petered out into a consistent cold pulsing, but it spiked again- frustratingly so- at the mention that something was the matter with Soo-Won. He had never imagined it possible to hate someone so intensely but still never wish them any sort of harm, but that's what he felt about his once best friend. His eyebrows dove down into sharp peaks, considering what he was about to do.

It was stupid, and reckless, and dangerous. All parties involved could get in deep trouble. Whatever Yona had been scheming against Soo-Won in her private time could effectively go up in flames.

Still, his princess needed him, and he be damned if he wasn't there in her time of need.

"Take me to her."

* * *

Her dress was a puddle of pink around her as she kneeled down beside the window, face buried into her hands as she cried softly. She didn't notice the shadow of Jae-ha and Hak's forms follow her as they landed lightly in the windowsill. She whipped around with a gasp as Jae-ha lightly tapped his fingertips against the cold glass, and when she realized it was the two of them, she jumped forward to scramble and open the latch.

"Hak!" she cried as he hopped down into the room. She immediately latched herself to him, burying her face deep into his soaked robes. He leaned down over her as he gently embraced her, stroking her soft dawn-colored hair. Before his face could soften into an expression of affection, Jae-Ha coughed loudly behind him.

"I feel like such a third wheel," he griped loudly. Hak felt Yona heat up in a body-wide blush at his obvious remark, and Hak glared at him over his shoulder. Smug bastard. Hak looked down at Yona to find her teary eyes staring up at him, wide and hurt and pleading, but also alight with weak happiness.

"Hak… I've missed you so much," she whispered. His face wasn't sure what expression to make; though normally he would've been overjoyed to hear her say such a thing, with Jae-ha there, it was incredibly awkward. The dragon was currently playing with the curtains with an amused look. He was blatantly enjoying making Hak shy, apparently. Hak made a mental note to give him a good whack upside his head later. Right now, the princess demanded his immediate attention. He swept his thumbs across her reddening cheeks to wipe away her tears.

"Don't worry, Princess. I'm here now," he assured her softly. His hands stiffened against her face as he recalled why Jae-ha had brought him there in the first place; Yona was upset about something concerning Soo-Won. His mind immediately flew to dastardly possibilities; could the king have done something to her? What more could he do to add to Yona's suffering? It was already bad enough that she was mostly forbidden from interacting with them. He felt his jaw tensing in ire. _Soo-Won… You bastard… She doesn't deserve any of this! _"Princess," he stated firmly, "tell me what's wrong. Did Soo-Won do something to you? I swear, I'll kill-"

"No!" she interjected quickly. With a meek whimper, she buried her face back into his chest, her small hands twisting the fabric of his clothes further. "No… It's nothing like that…" Her soft whisper was so muffled by his dense clothes that he could barely hear her. Hak stared down at the distraught princess. He felt so powerless. What burden was she bearing that she couldn't even tell _him_? With a gentle sigh, he grabbed both her hands to guide them around to his back, allowing her to squeeze him in a desperate hug. Her shoulder shook with wracking sobs that she was desperately trying to keep quiet. "Hak… What… What should I do?" As she shook her head against him, her tears smeared in glittering lines across his upper chest. "I don't want to lose anyone… Not even… Not even Soo-Won. I can't forgive him for what he did, not ever, but… I also can't bear the thought of him dying. Every time you two fight, it pains me so deeply. Do you hate me for that?"

Admittedly, Hak _did_ feel a deep, sharp stab of jealously cut through his heart. It made every cell in his body pulse at once. Yet… He wasn't angry. How could he be? He himself was unsure of how he truly felt about his childhood friend. If it really came down to it, even after everything… Could he really allow Soo-Won to die? He talked a big game, but if it came down to it, could he really kill Soo-Won himself? If he was truly, brutally honest with himself, he didn't think he could.

"No. Of course not, Princess."

"How did things end up like this?" she lamented woefully. "The three of us… Used to exist so peacefully under the same sky, but now… Everything is so confusing. I don't even know anymore if Soo-Won was ever with us in the first place. Did we ever know him at all? When we laughed together and played together, what did he really feel? Were any of those smiles honest?" As she further dissolved into misery, Hak could feel his heart clenching in his chest. He didn't know what to do. Why did he never know what to do? He could lay all her enemies low, but when it came to the things that really mattered, Hak never really knew what to say.

Soo-Won was always the one who was really good at that.

So, he didn't say anything. He enveloped her in a tight hug, forehead falling into her short waving tresses of bright red hair. "Was I wrong all this time? Should I have done something differently? Hak… I'm sorry… I got you in this mess…" she croaked weakly.

"Don't say sorry," he growled. His arms locked tighter around her, as if he could forcibly purge all the ill feelings swirling around in her body. "_Never_ say sorry to me. _Never_ bow your head to me. You are the princess. Where you go, I will follow. Whatever decisions you make, I will honor. It's that simple. I do these things not because I feel obligated, but because you are my princess which I am proud to serve. Don't forget that." At first, his voice had a hard edge to it, but as he went on, it gradually softened. "Princess… I know it's overwhelming right now, but what you must do is think of what's best for your kingdom. You are not alone in this. You have me, and Yoon, and your dragons. If you told us you wanted to raze this very castle to the ground, we would do it gladly," he whispered into her crimped curled of hair. He felt Yona exhale deeply and slump against him with crushing relief. _Good… She heard me. _

"Yes," she breathed into him. "You're right, Hak. Thank you."

It took her a few minutes to detach herself from him. He didn't begrudge her for it. He didn't know when the next time he would see her would be, so he allowed her to soak up as much as his presence as she could to get her through the trials ahead. When she finally did pull away from him, she wiped the lingering tears from her puffy red eyes before giving him a confident smile. That determined sparkle was back in her eyes. She would be all right.

"We should get going. They won't react kindly if we're caught," Jae-ha quipped nonchalantly from behind him. Hak continued to stand tersely in front of the princess; honestly, he didn't want to leave. It was hell, not being able to see her, to know she was safe. He knew he had to go, though. She stared expectantly up at him, waiting for him to turn back. Before he did, he gently took her chin between her thumb and forefinger, tilted her face up, and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.

Then he let Jae-ha take him away before he could get embarrassed and make a fool of himself.

The dragon brought him into the palace garden. The rain was still falling in a steady drizzle. Within a minute, his black hair was slicked to his forehead and his clothes slightly heavier from the amount of moisture they soaked up. Jae-ha dropped him down behind the sturdy trunk of a sprawling tree that provided ample protection from any prying eyes. Jae-ha went to say his good-byes, and that's when everything hit Hak like a cannonball; groaning, he slumped heavily against his side and laid his head down on his shoulder. His legs felt like jelly, shaking violently as his knees did their best to support his warrior's bulk.

"Droopy-Eyes, just… Just let me… For just a minute." He hated the obvious tremble in his voice, but there wasn't much he could do about it. His hand screwed into the area above his heart, twisting the fabric there like a whirlpool. It felt like someone had stabbed him, really. It wasn't often that Hak's emotions got the better of him; for the princess' sake as well as that of his pride, he kept a tight lid on all those inconvenient feelings. However, he wasn't infallible. Every once in a while, they would bubble over, boiling and intense. His face scrunched up in agony, teeth bared like fangs as he tried to shove them back into the box he had buried them in. Now was not the time. He was grateful for the rain streaming down his face, because it masked the prickling tears brimming in the corners of his eyes. He was grateful for Jae-ha, too, who just silently supported him without offering a sarcastic barb or teasing quip. He could be a nice guy when he wanted to be.

"It's cruel," the green-haired man remarked suddenly. Hak lifted his head to see him staring off into the distance; he followed his gaze to a high tower window, where he could just make out Soo-Won sitting in the window watching the rain fall over his kingdom. Hak could almost think that he looked lonely and sad as he was doing so. The spiteful part of him snarled that it was no less than he deserved. "Yona, you, the king… The fate of the country all lies with you. It's a heavy burden for anyone to bear."

"Yeah, well," Hak huffed as he forced himself back into a standing position. "I'll take the weight of the world if it means I can see the princess smile again." His eyes narrowed as Soo-Won rose from the window and wrenched the curtain shut.

Yona heard him. She had the strength to keep going, to find out how all of this would play out. That's all that mattered right now. Now, Hak just had to wait for his princess' orders.

Waiting was something he could do well.


	12. A Most Dangerous Game

Category: General Fluff

Characters: Soo-Won, Yona

Requested By: Chichi_needs_hug (Ao3)

Soo-Won's eyes were lidded as Joo-Doh's deep baritone voice echoed through the throne room. The sound reverberated off the grand walls and columns, making the room seem full despite the fact it was only the two of them- and Yona, Soo-Won's new personal assistant. At first, he had only given her leave of his study; he cared not if she perused the stacks and stacks of volumes contained within, after all, and he could see from the look on her face how she was vibrating with nervous energy. Had he continued to confine her to her bedroom, the girl would have done something reckless, and he didn't care for Yona ruining the well-laid plans he had toiled over with some brash act. No, it was far better to allow her to do as she pleased for now.

After a few days, he had been the one to propose allowing her to become his assistant. Kye-Sook was vehemently against it, but ultimately bent to Soo-Won's infallible reasoning; it was an excellent way to keep an eye on her. Furthermore, no one knew royal affairs better than Yona, so it was helpful to have her do part of his bidding. He had simply said, "She's not my prisoner. She came to ally with me, and therefore she is entitled to be treated as an _ally_, not shoved in a room to gather dust like a forgotten relic." Kye-Sook had turned a pretty impressive shade of reddish-purple before grudgingly consenting.

She had taken the job gracefully and was doing well under his watch, helping him record important information from Joo-Doh's briefings or fetching tomes from the library. It wasn't like she could go scheming with her dragons or Hak, given her quarantine, so Soo-Won wasn't particularly worried about what she learned. All the cards were in his hand, anyway; he doled out cards to those he needed to, but they never had the full deck, nor knew what hidden ace Soo-Won had up his sleeve.

Soo-Won found his mind, and eyes, drifting to the red-haired princess standing beside his throne. She really was a far cry from the shy little princess who had witnessed her father's murder that fateful night. She all but commanded attention now, her chin held high, and her eyes cold and emotionless as she regarded Joodoh as if he were but a necessary evil her eyes must bear witness to. Soo-Won supposed that in her mind, that wasn't an entirely inaccurate description.

Soo-Won tried not to care about what others thought of him, unless it was in the best interest of his endeavors. His goals were what he needed to focus on; pleasing people was not. Yet, every so often, he found himself wondering what the young princess thought of him now. She used to revere him so. Surely now, she thought him a wretch. He supposed that was justified, given what she had been forced to endure for Soo-Won's plans. Sometimes he wished he could just sit her down and spell it all out for her. He wondered if she would understand and join him in his efforts or oppose him. The variability in that scenario is what kept him from doing so. Soo-Won could ultimately only trust himself, in the end.

He didn't even notice that Joo-Doh had finished his report until he saw Yona respectfully dip her head to the soldier. Soo-Won's eyes flickered back to the man just in time to see him bow reverently to him.

"Thank you for your report," he responded vaguely. Recognizing this as a dismissal, Joo-Doh clicked his heels together in a salute before he whirled about, cape flapping as he took his leave. Soo-Won exhaled deeply; he hadn't listened to a word.

"You didn't hear a word of that report, did you?" Yona chided with a click of her tongue. Soo-Won's mouth curled upwards in an embarrassed sneer for a second, before he forced his usual serene expression back on his face and looked at her. Her dawn-colored eyes were trained on him, her hand primly holding the quill. "No matter. I recorded everything anyway, so you can always review them later," she shrugged before looking down at them. Soo-Won's eyebrows narrowed slightly. There was something off about her today.

"Princess? Are you unwell?" he asked solemnly as he straightened up in the throne. Her eyes flickered to him before looking back down at the documents she had scribed for him.

"I am just fine. Unless you have any more duties for me to perform today, I am going to read in the study. I'll set these on your desk for you to peruse at your leisure," Yona answered stiffly, and just like that, she was presenting Soo-Won the back of her kimono. He had to smile at her willfulness. He preferred people who pushed back a little against him to people groveling at his feet and obeying his every command without question… Although those kinds of people were useful, too.

He watched her turn the corner with lidded eyes. Why had he bothered asking, anyway? He knew damn well that Yona was _sad_, being deprived of her beloved four dragons, the medicine boy, and her loyal retainer Hak. Soo-Won knew that giving Yona unrestricted access to them at this point was dangerous to his carefully crafted plans. As much as he despised seeing her so blue, he couldn't risk her developing some half-baked revenge plot against him. That wouldn't do. He frowned into the palm of his hand as he tapped his index finger against his cheekbone. _Unrestricted access_ was troublesome, but…

"You there!" he called to servant boy who had entered a few minutes ago to begin sweeping the vast throne room. The boy scurried up to him, asking how he could be of use. "I have a few messages I need you to deliver…"

As soon as Yona turned the corner and was out of Soo-Won's eyesight, she exhaled miserably and flopped against the wall. She cradled the pieces of parchment against her front, not caring that the still-drying ink smudged her kimono with black-purple splotches and pretended for a few precious seconds that it was one of her dear friends she was embracing. Pitiful imaginary visions were not nearly enough to appease her loneliness, however, and very soon, she felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. _Stop that, _she scolded herself with an angry sniff. She rubbed at her eyes furiously with the heel of her palm. _Now is not the time to cry. I need to do more research in Soo-Won's study to find out what he's up to! _Steeling her frayed and fragile nerves, she set off with renewed vigor down the hallway.

As promised, she set the documents on Soo-Won's desk for him to attend to later before diving headlong into the voluminous stacks of books piled high throughout the room. There were all manners of texts- atlases, history books, personal recounts by soldiers, testimonies from courts, memoirs of various royals and well-to-dos, even a set of love letters between a courtesan and a knight from one hundred years ago. They were all interesting reads in numerous respects, but none of them elucidated any inklings of Soo-Won's motives in murdering her father and assuming the throne.

After about an hour of rifling through the stacks of papers, Soo-Won finally came along and asked her to retrieve a few titles from the castle's expansive library. Rooting through the books had done Yona little good anyway, so she supposed a walk clear her head, lest she get too frustrated and miss something crucial.

She held the scrap of parchment listing the books Soo-Won wanted as she plodded through the halls toward the library. Yona knew her way around it well now, so she didn't bother the library attendant with her searches, instead diving right into the area of shelves she knew they would be. She recounted the titles she passed under her breath as she strolled alongside the towering rack. As she came upon the desired title, she tugged it out and tucked it under her arm before proceeding to the next search. In no time at all, she was exiting the stacks with three dusty tomes gathered under her armpit, but they all flopped right to the ground when she saw Yoon standing in the middle of the aisle poring over a textbook of medicinal herbs.

"Yoon!"

"Ah! Young miss!" Yoon gasped as she addressed him. He snapped the book shut and held it to his chest, scurrying over to her and bending down to help her retrieve her dropped books from the red-carpeted floor. "Long time, no see," he smiled with a hint of sadness as he straightened up, holding out a book to her. She smiled with equal misery as she took it with him and secured it back under her arm.

"Yes… How is the castle treating you? Are you allowed to study as you please?"

"Ah, yes. I came here because His Majesty Soo-Won sent a messenger to inform me that they had just acquired a most recent publication on the local herbs, so I came right over to read it," he said, holding up the book as evidence. Yona didn't know quite what to think about the odd occurrence. Surely it was just coincidental that they had acquired a new manuscript and Soo-Won had only been kind enough to tell Yoon. He wasn't purposely instructing the librarian to keep an eye out for medicinal books on the market, right? Her arm was beginning to ache from holding up the weighty tomes, so she shifted them to the other.

"I see. I hope you learn something new."

"Indeed!" He looked like he wanted to say something more, as he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Ah… We miss you. We worry about you. Are you being treated okay? No one has tried to hurt you, right?" Her eyes widened slightly as he stared despondently at her, a light blush painting his cheeks. "We don't know what to do without you…" Yona smiled sweetly and reached out to cup his cheek reassuringly. He leaned into her hand, looking at her with unsure eyes.

"Don't worry, Yoon. I'm okay. Thank you for your concern," she told him gently. It hurt her to see Yoon this way, because he tried his best to be strong and capable a lot of the time. Yona's heart was aching to break down into bitter tears about how miserable she was, but now was not the time for self-pity. If she did that, Yoon might say something to her dragons, and the next thing she knew, they would be storming the castle and causing all sorts of ruckus that just wouldn't do. _I must be strong so as not to worry them needlessly. I need to wait until the time is right. I still have their support. _"I am doing my best, so all you need to do is do your best as well," she smiled brightly at him before pulling her arm back and tucking it back underneath the cumbersome stack of books. Yoon smiled serenely. He looked genuinely reassured, which Yona was glad for.

"Yes, young miss, I will. Someone has to keep those four knuckleheads in check." She laughed radiantly at his uncouth insulting of them. The townspeople sure worshiped and revered them, but Yoon and Yona knew that they were really just a bunch of dorks. She was glad that Yoon was taking it upon himself to look after them.

"I'm grateful to you, Yoon. It does my heart good to know I can trust in you to keep them safe." He flushed and mumbled something shyly under his breath. Yona grimaced as her other arm began to burn with the strain of keeping the books held aloft, so she switched arms again. "I'm afraid I must go. I need to deliver these books to Soo-Won." She would really rather stay and talk with Yoon more, but Soo-Won would come looking for her eventually, and she didn't want anything to happen to Yoon if he found out they were talking. Yoon nodded in understanding but looked just as regretful about it as she felt.

"Of course. I hope to see you again soon, Yona," he said and stepped aside so she could walk past him down the walkway. Yona kept looking back at him as she exited the library, feeling like she needed to commit his face to memory lest she forget it in all the days she was wasting away within the castle, just waiting for the pin to drop.

She made a point to make up for lost time by all but running down the hallway back to the study; by the time she made it there, she was red-faced and panting. She plunked the books down on Soo-Won's desk, and after holding them for so long, her arms felt like wiggly jelly. She took a seat on the stool nearby to take a moment to catch her breath, fanning herself with her hand.

"I apologize. I did not realize they were so heavy," Soo-Won apologized in a flat tone without looking up from his reports. Yona straightened up a little as she was addressed and stopped cooling her hot face, trying to seem less worn out than she was.

"They weren't they heavy."

"You took a while in there. Did something happen?" His glittering eyes fixed on her, and she gulped. He held his quill aloft, dripping ink down onto the pristine white sheet of parchment. It almost seemed like he knew the answer without asking and was just trying to see if she lied.

"No. It just took longer than I thought to find one of the books because it was misplaced. That's all." The lie came out easy but burned like acid on her tongue. She didn't like lying, even to Soo-Won or his cohorts. It just felt _wrong_, and on top of that, it would likely come back to bite her in the behind later. His face was completely expressionless as he gazed measuredly at her through lidded eyes. Soo-Won always had such analytic, piercing eyes, like they could see right through her. Yona was even more aware of that now that they were turned upon her.

"I see," he answered simply and turned back to his desk, dipping the now-dry quill back into the inkwell. "Thank you for retrieving them."

"You're welcome." She picked up the book she had been reading before she had been sent on the errand and cracked it back open. It was a memoir of a priest from the elder days. She only got a few paragraphs in before Soo-Won said in an almost expectant tone of voice, "I was hoping you could join me for lunch today, Yona." She looked up at him, red eyes blinking in surprise. He had a small smile on his face as he regarded her, cheek in hand.

"I would love to." Another lie, another flood of bitter acid over her tongue. It wasn't that she hated Soo-Won. She wasn't _sure_ how she felt about Soo-Won, and so when they were alone, she buried herself in menial tasks to avoid dwelling on the cascade of questions his person always set off in her mind. Lunch with him would be a maddening ordeal. She would have to be on her guard as well; there was _definitely_ a motive behind everything he did. Every move was calculated like chess. He would likely be subtly interrogating her, and she would have to have her wits about her to keep from divulging anything he could use as ammunition. It was challenging when she was trying not to think about her father's murder or his motives or her confusing feelings-not feelings for him. "I would love to," she repeated, softly, almost trying to convince herself that it was like old times, that she really _would_ love to.

"Very good. I have everything arranged. Shall we?" Yona's mouth dropped open as he suddenly stood from his desk, shoving the half-read reports aside and regarding her expectantly.

"N-now?" she sputtered, caught way off guard. She hadn't expected him to propose it and already have it planned! Did he know that she would agree? How did he know? _Oh, Soo-Won, you __**cunning**__\- _she thought as she bit the inside of her cheek and snapped the book shut again. It wasn't like it was a useful read, anyway. She cleared her throat, closing her eyes to clear her mind and body back to equilibrium. _Be at ease, Yona. It's just lunch. Alone. With Soo-Won. Your father's murderer and previous love of your life. _As her train of thought all but derailed into a ravine of self-pity and discomfort, a scowl tried to work its way onto her face. Thankfully Soo-Won was already out the door, kingly robes swishing as he called for her not to tarry. "No worries at all," she grumbled under her breath before following.

Yona did not know how long ago Soo-Won had concocted this plan for lunch, but if it were within the last few hours, the castle staff did an excellent job throwing it together. The servants had placed a small table in the castle garden, situated on a small round plaza surrounded by shady trees and aromatic shrubbery that was currently in bloom. The table was just long enough to provide respectable distance between the two of them, on opposite ends with at least six feet between them. The mahogany table was overlaid with a silk tablecloth and already outfitted with all their cutlery and plate ware, two glasses of water already poured. As Yona sat down in the chair that Soo-Won pulled out for her, she found it odd that the table was set for four others as well. _Are his advisors attending as well? _She wondered, nervously tucking the folds of her kimono under her thighs. She didn't know if that was alleviating, as she would not have to deal with Soo-Won alone, or worrying, as she would be outnumbered. Soo-won's sparkling eyes watched her with all the intensity of a coyote's but revealed nothing.

"Are we to have guests?" she inquired politely.

"Yes, indeed. They should be escorted in any minute now," the king responded smoothly, lacing his fingers together and laying his chin on them- elbows on the table like he had no care for manners. It was such mannerisms that almost fooled Yona into the idea that Soo-Won wasn't a noble at all. So aloof and uncaring and mysterious… It was amazing how long you could know someone and not have any idea what they're thinking. _Soo-Won… What are you doing all this for? _She wanted to scream, but she knew he wouldn't answer her. She would have to discover the answer for herself, somehow.

A chittering noise distracted her from her melancholy thoughts, and she glanced down just in time to see Ao vault herself from the neat stone path up into her lap. Yona stared at the chipmunk in an awed stupor as she scurried up her arm to nuzzle violently into her neck. Where Ao went, a dragon followed-

"Princess!"

"Kija?!" Yona jumped up at the white-haired boy's voice. Sure enough, there he was strolling into the garden with the three other dragons not far behind him. Yona gathered her skirts about her so she could take off in a fluster, barreling across the path to all but throw herself against Kija. He turned red and began sputtering shyly, but knowledge of his bashfulness was forgotten to Yona, for she was so relieved to see her beloved companions after such time. "I missed you all so much!" she cried, pawing at Jae-Ha and Shin-ah to tug them into a sloppy group hug. She only had two hands, but it didn't matter because Zeno had attached himself to her waist anyway.

"We missed you too, young miss!" he trilled as he nuzzled the side of her belly affectionately. Yona had her face buried into Kija's chest, smearing tears of joy all over his front while his fingers curled into the fabric. For a moment, she wondered if she had fallen asleep in the study and was dreaming. A cruel dream it would be, for she had to awaken eventually, but at least she could have momentary bliss. They went to pull away from her, but she adamantly held her grip on them.

"Please… For a moment, just let me… know you're here for real," Yona pleaded in a small voice. She heard Jae-ha snort before his hand came down to reassuringly stroke the top of her head.

"Don't worry. We're here, Yona." At Jae-ha's quiet comfort, Yona was finally able to peel herself from the very flustered Kija and look at all of them. A big smile split her face as she realized, yes, they were there, she had her dragons beside her. Hurriedly, she wiped her tears with her knuckles before tipping her head with a beaming smile.

"I'm so glad to see you, everyone!"

"Good! Now that that's settled, what are we eating?" Zeno yipped at her hip and sniffed the air expectantly. He detached himself from the princess to scamper over to Soo-Won, grinning in that childlike manner of his. "Thanks for the invite, Mr. King! We were getting stir-crazy without the young miss." Yona's eyes widened as she looked over her shoulder at Soo-Won, who smiled gracefully and told Zeno that it was no trouble at all. She thought back to the happenstance run-in with Yoon in the library.

_Did Soo-Won… arrange all this because he noticed I was sad? _Once more, his glittering gaze turned upon her, and she was electrified. His lips curled upward into a confirmatory smile that seemed to say, "Are you pleased?" It wasn't sarcastic or malicious in any way… In fact, he almost seemed to be relieved that Yona was happy now. Involuntarily, her hand clutched at the fabric of her kimono resting over her heart and squeezed it tight.

_Soo-Won… I can't… I can't read you… What __**am**__ I to you?_

* * *

Minsoo was very elated to hear that his last-minute lunch planning had been very successful. Beaming, he said, "I could see the princess' smile even from within the castle. She looked so delighted. I am very grateful to His Majesty for allowing her to see her dragons that she missed so dearly." Yes, Yona had been thrilled indeed. For a second, Soo-Won had almost been fooled that the same plucky, oblivious little girl had been standing before him. Surrounded by her beloved dragons shedding tears of joy, her smile was as radiant and bright as the moon at full-height, making her dawn-colored hair seem all the redder and fierier in that moment. Soo-Won had found himself smiling, too, until that dawn hair reminded him of the legend of the Crimson Dragon and his doomed family lineage. Then his mouth had run dry with the bitter ash of regret and fear. Every man feared his impending death; Soo-Won was no exception. He feared not completing his dream before his illness claimed him.

Soo-Won did very little talking during that lunch. They certainly lived up to their rowdy reputation. They all had such distinct personalities that they clashed in tumultuous thunder that was both loud and entertaining. At one point, food was even being chucked across the table. Soo-Won didn't mind; he found the carefree atmosphere quite refreshing, actually. He was made for royalty, but he didn't enjoy it. All the rules and expectations and manners… It was all so tiresome.

For that brief few hours, he was able to enjoy the unrestricted freedom Yona had experienced while journeying throughout the land- and he found himself sorely envying that. _That is not my path, _he had to remind himself, knuckles glaring white as he clenched his fingers together and watched her through lidded eyes. Smiling, laughing, talking… but every so often, her red eyes would fix on him, questioning, demanding, challenging. He certainly had a worthy and tenacious adversary in young Yona, if he ever provoked her enough. He was grateful that, for the time being, she was relatively complacent and docile. Allowing her to see her dragons and the medicine boy was the right choice, he decided.

Undeniably, however, there was something- some_one_\- missing.

As his hawk flew overhead, screeching into the wind, Soo-Won thought of him. He had considered it. Really, he had. He knew how much Hak meant to Yona, especially after everything that had happened. However, he would already be in hot water over this orchestrated event. Kye-sook would give him an earful if he allowed Yona and Hak to meet.

On top of that, the Thunder Beast was anything if unpredictable. There were too many uncertainties and variables involved. Soo-Won had elected to forgo bringing Hak into the equation, hoping that these two meetings would be enough for the princess- and for a while, he thought his little scheme had worked out swimmingly.

That is, until that night.

After the lunch, they had returned to Soo-Won's study, where Yona had dived back into her reading with gusto. Soo-Won finally finished reading all the reports for the day a good hour after the sun had sunk below the horizon. With a small yawn, Soo-Won leaned over the back of the chair to crack his back and stretch his arms. In so doing, he cast a fleeting glance at the princess. His gaze fixed upon her form, slumped over in a stool with her head bobbing up and down. The open book in her lap was slowly slipping over her knee in inching increments. As it threatened to drop and hit the floor with surely enough noise to startle her awake, he swooped in to catch it. He marked the page and set it aside before looking down at her. Her lips were slightly parted as she breathed deeply and quietly, shoulders rising and falling in rhythm with her chest. He could also detect a slight shiver in her form and a paleness to her skin.

"You'll catch a cold like that," he scolded her gently. He kneeled, sweeping off the outer layer of his robes and throwing it loosely around her shoulders. He edged a little bit closer to her, on the flats of his feet to preserve his balance, then carefully gathered her in his arms. She was really such a light, petite little thing, he noticed, as he easily straightened up with the princess bundled in his grasp. Her head lolled into his shoulder, and her dawn-red hairs threaded into his long, light brown ones. He swept a few of them out of her face before exiting the study.

Joo-Doh had been stationed outside the study. His eyes grew wide as he looked upon the king carrying the princess out of the room.

"Your Majesty," his gruff voice said respectfully.

"It's all right," Soo-Won interjected before he could say anything. "I am not straining myself." Joo-Doh looked uncomfortable but was not the type to argue, so he just wordlessly followed Soo-Won as he delivered the girl to her quarters. Soo-Won crouched down beside her futon, keeping her body nestled between his body and bent legs as he nudged back the covers. She must have been exhausted, for she didn't even stir as he lowered her down into the blankets. It would be too much of a bother to tug his coat off her, so he just left it and laid the sheets loosely over her so she wouldn't get too hot. Just as he was rising to leave, her tiny hand snapped out to grab hold of the hem of his robes.

"Hak…" Her voice was so small. So pleading. So needy. _So lost_. Soo-Won stared down at her with a flurry of feeling writhing inside him as a single tear leaked out from between her lashes to roll down her cheek. Behind him, Joodoh was standing resolutely in the doorway. Soo-Won kneeled back down, acting like he was adjusting the blankets.

"Don't worry, Yona." His whisper was but a breath and would be drowned out by a mouse's chitter if one was nearby. "I'll find a way for you to see Hak very soon, so don't worry. Be at ease." The corner of her mouth twitched, almost like she was trying to smile in her sleep. Her breathing had hitched for a second when she had called out Hak's name, but it settled back into the steady rhythm of sleep at Soo-Won's words. He stared down at her, the princess who was attached to him by a cord of fate he knew not how to cut, nor had the will to.

Soo-Won had all the cards. He doled them out as he needed to, but no one but him had the entire deck, nor knew what ace he could be hiding up his sleeve. But Yona had a deck of her own, waiting for the time was nigh to play, and Soo-Won could never be at ease as long as Yona believed they were at odds. Such a dangerous game Soo-Won was playing, but a game he simply had to play. "Be at ease," he whispered again, but knew not if he was talking to the princess or himself.

Only time would tell, as a most dangerous game continued to evolve in a country steeped in secrets and mysterious forces…


	13. Mad World

Category: Hurt and Comfort, Romantic Fluff

Characters: Yona, Soo-Won

Requested By: Anonymous (Tumblr)

The wooden floor of her palace room groaned and moaned with her feverish footfalls as Yona paced back and forth, back and forth, back and back and forth and forth and back again. That was all Yona could do, was pace and think and think while pacing and pace while thinking. Back and forth, think think think, riddle on what the hell she was supposed to do basically imprisoned in her bedroom like this. No dragons, no Yoon, no Hak, just Yona. Yona, alone and pacing and _thinking_.

_It was __**maddening**__. _

With a sudden, deranged screech of lunacy, she whirled on her heel to tear into the curtains framing the large window overlooking the palace courtyard. Her fingernails ripped into the silken fabric, reaming into the threads and pulling them asunder as she yanked on the curtain with all her might. Little, angry screeches spilled from her mouth while she tugged and tugged, rattling the curtain rod mounted into the stone wall. The linear metal piece desperately tried to cling to the rough surface, but with Yona's continuous and manic assault, dust began to rain down as the brackets began to wrench loose. Yona wasn't sure why the poor curtain was the object of her ire, but nevertheless she tore into it like a mangy feral cat, dropping shreds of torn fabric around her slippered feet. Very soon the screws could bear no more and jumped from the wall; the heavy, decorative metal ball welded to the main body made the rod's plummet all the hastier. Yona jumped violently as it collided into the wooden floor with a massive _thunk_! and the curtain slipped from her hands to puddle like white milk at her feet. She stared dully at the half-destroyed, dismounted curtains with burning red eyes. It was not satisfying at all; her fingers still itched to maim, to tear into everything in this room and leave it a maelstrom of silk and cotton and splinters.

"Princess! Are you all right?" Of course the noise would attract whoever happened to be nearby. Yona hadn't much cared of the consequences of her actions at the moment; she was boiling with boredom and anxiety and frustration, and desperately needed an outlet. Normal people might cry, but Yona had elected that tears wouldn't do. She was beyond tears now, or so she told herself. But…

Why did it have to be _Soo_-_Won_?

The young king stared with wide eyes at the curtain rod hanging at a diagonal angle from the wall, the one set of brackets struggling to support its weight, and the tatters of silk curtain surrounding the hem of Yona's pink kimono. Her eyes were lidded and cold as she just watched him gawk. This was all _his_ fault, really. Sure, Yona had decided to entire an alliance and come to the palace, but if Soo-Won hadn't set off the chain of events that resulted in that alliance, this wouldn't be happening.

Yona immediately regretted the thought. She knew better now. If none of this had happened, her people would still be struggling and Yona would be living in blissful ignorance. Sometimes, however, she just couldn't help but crave that ignorance… Especially when the lingering flames of her love for Soo-Won decided to rear their ugly heads.

Yona's mouth curled in on itself as her heart lurched in her chest just at the sight of him. It was _maddening_, the way her desire to dig her fingernails into his cheek mixed with her longing to softly caress it, the way her desire to rip every one of those flax-golden hairs out of his head mixed with her longing to run her hands through him, the way her desire to scream and yell and curse him in a thousand tongues mixed with her longing to throw herself at him and sob and beg and _surrender_. Maddening, yes it was. It was driving Yona to near insanity, and as she stood there, she was wide-eyed and teetering on an abyss from which there was no return.

"Yona." His voice was soft and full of concern as he uttered her name. His eyes, still huge with the sight of Yona's shredded prey, finally flickered up to meet her own fiery ones like dawn. To his credit, he did not flinch away at the inferno there; he just stared, measuring, waiting for her response. "Are you… displeased?" he said finally when she refused to respond. Really, Yona was still so embroiled with her own feelings that she couldn't formulate a response. His question returned some sense of normalcy to her mind. The fire died in her eyes, cooled by the sheer incredulity at his question.

"'_Displeased_,'" she echoed. Slowly, like water trickling from within rocks piled high, her wits returned to her. Her head dropped to do as Soo-Won had, stare numbly at the carnage she had wrought on the poor, innocent drapery. Her hands began to sting terribly with the weight of the own violence she had wrought, as if they were coated in hot, sticky, burning blood and insides. They were just curtains; it wasn't like she had killed someone. Still, Yona's stomach flopped about with the unsettling possibility that if someone had stumbled upon her in her mania, she might very well have unleashed on them like a woman possessed. It made the bitter acid of shame flood her tongue. Yona had never been so violent before. Sure, she had done violent things, but always with good reason. This was wanton destruction, and the fact that it was borne of her own hands rattled her to her core.

Well, it wasn't entirely without reason, she rationalized. "Displeased," she repeated in a hoarse voice. "Displeased" didn't even scratch the surface of what she was feeling right now. She didn't have a _word_ for what she was feeling right now. Silent, teeth clenched, she just stared at the mangled curtains and lamented her own sorry state of being. How had it come to this? Cool, calm, collected, and _strong_ to manic, deranged and _mad_?

"_Yona_." His voice called her with maddening power. Of its own accord, Yona's head rose to obediently meet his beckoning gaze. She hadn't heard his footsteps, but he had closed the distance and was standing in front of her. She compulsively swallowed. His eyes were the one burning now, pulsing with a soft yet furious heat that made her tremble. It wasn't anger, or disappointment, or disdain; it was something else entirely, and it both frightened and excited her. He tilted his head to the side slightly as he smiled that gentle reassuring smile that she missed so dearly but wanted to slap off his face. "Tell me what happened."

She wanted to lie. She did not want to admit that she had just had a psychotic fit and wrenched the curtain rod off the wall and destroyed the curtains like some kind of beast. Yona, however, felt the pitiful attempts at falsehoods dissolving on her tongue under Soo-Won's gentle yet critical stare. There was no point in lying and he knew well enough what she had just done. "This alliance isn't working out the way you wanted it to, is it?" he asked her with a degree of amusement in his voice that made her skin itch with fury.

"No. No, it is not, Soo-Won." The steel in her voice was sharper than the finest-crafted blade. At the iron on her tongue, the king exhaled deeply and his body sagged sadly. The reaction disquieted her; was he acting for her benefit or truly displeased that she was going crazy cordoned off in this bedroom? His eyes shut for a second, and when they opened, Yona felt electric shocks pulse over every single one of her nerves. The way he was staring at her, apologetic and guilty, was a look she had imagined every day since she witnessed him drawing a bloody sword from her father's limp body.

It was not satisfying, not at all. Somehow, she wanted _more_. The madness began to scratch and howl in her ringing skull again.

"How dare you. How _dare_ you look all sad and guilty when I'm stuck here with nothing to do but pace and think and fret _all day_!" she screamed at him suddenly. She lunged at him, fingers clawing into his kingly robes like they had done the curtains, but rather than shredding them, she only clutched onto them with an iron grip. Her red eyes burned as they bore into his, as if a glare alone could make his combust. "How _dare_ you. You want to know what happened? I am losing my mind! I can't _take_ it anymore!" A dam erupted inside of her, releasing long-held feelings and tears. They were like rivers of ice and fire as they flooded down her cheeks, and her voice cracked as she hissed again, "I can't _take_ it anymore. I don't know what is up and what is down. My mind is reeling. I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't know what you're doing, and the one _single_ comfort I could be afforded while I'm all but your prisoner in here is barred from me!" Her head dropped, chin banging against her chest. Her quivering hands held onto his clothes like the were the lifeline preventing her from being washed out to sea. She hated herself right now, admitted all this to him. But if she didn't release it to anyone, even if it has to be Soo-Won, she really was going to go insane. What was her country? What was her fate? What was Soo-Won's plan and how should she respond? These questions plagued her, maddeningly so.

With the weight of her on psyche mounting on her frail body, her knees finally buckled. Soo-Won reflexively caught her under her elbows as her legs folded in on themselves. Sobbing and groaning, she just cried pathetically while he held her up. "And you know… you know what the worst part is?" she choked out between sobs. "I hate you, but I love you. I despise you for what you did but I love you still. I thought I had grown so much, but I came back here, and it all has come crashing down upon me. I'm still that naïve, foolish little girl who wasn't worth killing."

"Yona!" She did not expect such harsh bite from his voice. It made her head snap up to look at him with wide and watery eyes. His lips were drawn into a taut line and his eyes were their fieriest yet. "I did not let you go because you were '_not worth killing_.'"

"Then why?" she demanded in an agonized cry. Her fingers dug further into his clothes, probably bruising the skin underneath. "_Why_, Soo-Won, I don't under-"

The rest of her words came out as a surprised squeak muffled by his lips crashing into hers. It was not at all kingly, the way he kissed it her; it was passionate, carnal, desperate and _mad_. If Yona's legs had been able to support her then, her kneecaps would've been obliterated to dust the instant their mouths smashed together. Her eyes fluttered shut with a low, needy whine; as if responding, Soo-Won's tongue pushed into her mouth and tangled feverishly with her own. She didn't object. She got drunk off him like she was partaking in the finest wine in the world, her tongue savoring every little bit of his essence. She could vaguely feel his fingers in her dawn-colored hair, caressing and twisting, but most of her senses were dominated by the explosion of feeling fireworking over her body. Oh, oh, how she had _wanted_ this, and how much she _hated_ herself for it.

She lamented the loss of his warmth and touch as he pulled away, and despite herself, her lips involuntarily chased him. She wanted to spend forever in that kiss. In that hazy fog, she didn't have to think about the circumstances or how wrong it was; she just had to think about him, her mouth on hers and his hands on her body. It was simple. Easy. Uncomplicated. He permitted her pursuit for a moment, giving her another softer kiss with more feeling, but pulled back again after a few seconds. He said her name and it pulled her out of the fog, back to her confusing and complicated and maddening reality.

"Does that answer your question?" His voice was breathy and laced with a fair bit of irritation. Maybe with himself, maybe with Yona- maybe both. She swallowed and licked her lips, mouth suddenly drying up. Was she supposed to be satisfied with that? A kiss that seals the deal and makes everything all right? The trouble was that she was one hundred percent satisfied with that.

She stepped away from him, trying to hide the tremor in her still-recuperating jellified legs. She felt that her hands needed to be doing something so she smoothed out nonexistent creases in her kimono. Her brain whirled desperately trying to make sense of everything, but nothing made sense anymore. That was her problem to begin with. "I'll take that as a 'no.'" He sounded amused, like he had expected it.

"What do you _expect_?" she huffed. The fight was dying from her voice and spirit, replaced with indescribable weariness. She was so tired. She was so tired of fighting whatever this fight was, but that was the only thing Yona could think to do was _fight_. Surrender simply was not in the meek, naïve, ignorant princess' blood, apparently. Her hands continued to fix her perfectly fine kimono while she refused to look at him. "I just… I can't…" God, she couldn't even explain herself. This is not how she wanted to look in front of him, flustered and stupid. It was like her previous self had been taken captive and replaced with a bungling imposter, and she was trying so desperately to get it back with little luck. Her hand began stringing through her hair, which was crimping uncomfortably with sweat. All the while, Soo-Won watched her, thankfully without pity. "I hate you," she grumbled finally, because it was the only thing that sort of made sense.

"I know." Oh, hell, no, he couldn't do that. He couldn't get that sad look on his face and think that it made it all okay. But it did. In Yona's stupid, manic, _mad_ mind, it made it okay. Defeated, she kicked the curtain rod aside and sank down on the cushioned seat that sat below the windowsill.

"I love you," she simpered as she put her flushing face in her hands. She didn't have to look at him to know he had that other look on his face, that soft, gentle smile that made her heart sing and wail simultaneously. That smile that carried a hint of sadness that never faded.

"I know that, too." A period of silence settled between them. She peered through her fingers to see his own twitching, like he was trying to figure out how to comfort her but arriving at no conclusions. She couldn't blame him. She didn't know what to do with herself, either. As she sat there, the moonlight cool on her back as it flood through the unshielded window behind her, Yona finally began to feel a sense of normalcy returning to her. She partitioned off the confusing kiss and focused instead on her situation and what she ought to do about it, and was beginning to feel that clear-headed determination return to her. _I just have to keep fighting. That is all I can do. I will resist as long as I have to and find out what Soo-Won wants… _

She felt the cushioning dip beside her and heard the slight ringing of the metal as it rolled over the wooden floor when Soo-Won seated himself beside her. "I wish things were simple."

"You're the one who made it complicated." She kept her face buried in her hands because she didn't know what would happen if she looked at him.

"I suppose that's true." His laugh was hollow and mirthless. "I wish I could explain it all to you. I really do. But if I did, I didn't know if you would believe me."

"Can't fault you for that." Another hollow, joyless laugh that rang through the quiet bedroom, followed by a slight sigh. "I'm not giving up, you know. Don't think this changes things. I just needed to get it out of my system."

"No, I expect you won't." She finally lifted her head to look up at him, finding him smiling as he looked at her out of his peripheral vision. "You wouldn't be the girl I loved if that happened."

Surprisingly, her body garnered no reaction from that bombshell of a statement. It felt more like she had known it all along and she was vindicated now. It made a funny taste tingle on her tongue, one she couldn't quite place; possibly a mixture of things. He smiled more as he pushed himself up from the seat and began heading for the door. "I'll send someone to fix that in the morning," he said with a lazy gesture to the destroyed curtains. Yona watched him go with confliction and a heavy heart.

"Yeah. Sure." Once the frame of the sliding door clacked against the threshold, she exhaled loudly and flopped onto her side; the cushion embraced her, sinking her down into its fluffy softness. With the adrenaline no longer pumping in her system, her muscles now felt the strain of torturing the curtains. Dully, she stared down at its wispy corpse spread out over the wood floor.

The Celestial Dragons. The usurper King Soo-Won. The displaced princess. The Thunder Beast. The unknown battle for the world as they knew it.

Maddening, it all was to Yona. Somehow, though, the one thing that should be the most maddening was no longer maddening at all. She smiled thinly to herself and rolled onto her back, the moonlight washing over her like enclosing her in a blanket.

_You drive me mad, Soo-Won… But still, I love you so. _


	14. Mad World Part II

Category: Romantic Fluff, Angst

Characters: Yona, Soo-Won

Requested By: Anonymous (Tumblr)

After wresting the dusty tome from the towering bookshelf, Yona fell back on the flats of her feet and tucked the volume underneath the crook of her arm. She paused to sweep an errant strand of her dawn-red hair from her forehead and tuck it neatly behind her ear. She pulled the book out from underneath her armpit to inspect its front cover; it was an accounting of a specific war from antiquity, written by an esteemed general. Soo-Won had requested she retrieve it from within the stacks and she obliged because, well, she _was_ his assistant now.

Following her manic fit, Soo-Won had given her leave to enter and leave his personal study as she pleased. It was a far cry from the freedom she desired, but it was much better than being basically imprisoned in her bedroom to talk to the walls all day. As promised, Soo-Won had sent some contractors to repair the destroyed curtains with the concocted explanation that Yona had tripped and accidentally wrecked them. Their concerned side-eyes at the princess as she sat at her calligraphy desk silently drawing characters on parchment indicated that they didn't quite believe that story, but they knew better than to openly dispute the fact. Yona had not since been gripped by that manic anger since that night, most likely because Soo-Won had taken her fragile mental health in mind and afforded her the tiniest bit of liberty.

The castle was quiet as she walked back towards Soo-Won's study. Yona's prior residence in the castle seemed like a lifetime away, but she still didn't recall the castle ever being so… lifeless. Her memories, hazy as they were, were of a castle filled with laughter and smiles, of jovial parties and consular meetings, of bright days and the sense of _home_. To Yona it now felt like a foreign fortress of which she was a tolerated guest- fed well, clothed well, but looked upon like a stray dog or relative overstaying their welcome. The servants embraced her presence, at least, and always greeted her with genuine smiles and friendly words; however, Soo-Won's cabinet always eyed her like a scheming wretch, a bug to be squashed before it could nip the tender flesh of their king and mar it forevermore.

They weren't exactly wrong. Yona was indeed scheming, even if her scheming yielded no useable strategies. Scheming, as well as performing mundane chores for the king, at least kept Yona sane. Although… There was still one maddening gear that just didn't fit properly into the clockwork of her mind.

The king himself. Soo-Won. Current sworn adversary whom she was also madly in love with and may or may not have kissed him in a very un-princess-like way after tearing curtains from a wall like a deranged maniac. Yes. A very oddly-shaped and uncooperative gear in her little whirling mind.

Yona's steps faltered until she was standing in the middle of the hallway, just hugging the large book to her chest and staring pitifully at the stone floor. She had tried to forget about that kiss, to cordon it off in the recesses of her mind to be blissfully forgotten. She couldn't, though. She couldn't forget about how good it felt to have his lips moving against hers, to have his tongue swirling with hers, to have his hands roaming her body and lighting up a fire in her nerves. She couldn't forget about what might have happened if they hadn't stopped. She couldn't forget about the headspace that one kiss had created, that temporary world where she _could_ forget about all the maddening aspects of her reality and just be _Yona_. Not Princess Yona, not Yona the reincarnated Dragon King, not leader Yona of the Happy Hungry Bunch. Just… _Yona_.

Groaning, she knocked on the side of her head with a fist to shove down the tempestuous feelings that were once again rising up. It was already so complicated; she didn't want to complicate things further by dredging up her old love for Soo-Won. _Come on, Yona. Just deliver the book. It's late in the evening, so you can retire to bed after. _In her head, it sounded like a perfectly simple plan. With renewed vigor she set off to the study. Her pace was less than leisurely so she arrived in no time at all.

"Here's the book you asked for," she announced as she strolled in, holding up the book by the spine. "If you'll excuse me, I'll…" she trailed off as Soo-Won leaned back in his desk chair to gaze at her with a small smile. Her words, and her plan to retire to bed, were completely forgotten in a mere instant. She stared owlishly at the taller man as he languidly rose and walked over to pluck the book from her hand.

"Thank you." Her mouth made some gratuitous remark, but her brain did not register it. Her arm flopped limply to her side as he turned to begin thumbing through the pages. She was fixated on the way he moved, unbothered yet purposeful, languid yet graceful. Soo-Won had always been beautiful in his own sort of way. She was yet again reminded of that fact, and all it had taken was for him to get up from a desk and walk over to her. He suddenly looked up to eye her through his peripheral vision and she quickly shut her mouth after realizing that it was, in fact, hanging open. "You were going to say something?"

"Uh." Yes, she was, but now she had no recollection of what. That little gear had tried to once more wedge itself into the cogs of her mind and sent her thought processes careening. Soo-Won raised an eyebrow and snapped the book shut to set it on the desk, turning back to face her. She found herself dimly wondering if his profile or his full face was more handsome. It was a very tough decision.

"Yona? Are you all right?" he asked. The genuine concern in his voice made her heart twist up, finally returning her wits to her. It was always that concerned, guilty look that did her in. It was so confusing. How could Soo-Won be so troubled about her well-being, and yet set this entire maddening situation into motion? How could he care for her, and yet murder her father in cold blood? She felt her throat begin to close up with mounting anxiety.

"I-I need to sit down," she wheezed and stumbled for the nearest seat, his desk chair. He caught her underneath her elbow as she tripped over the hem of her dress, gently guiding her fumbling form to the chair. She sank down into the cushioned furniture with a shaky whine. She looked down at her hands to find them sweaty and frightfully trembling. Her face was beginning to feel clammy and sweaty, too. It was happening again. It was all surging up, the anxiety and the hypotheticals and the _reality_, a tsunami threatening to take her under and spirit her down into the dark abyss.

"Yona." His voice was so soft, so reassuring. It shone out to Yona like the convivial beam of a lighthouse, and without thinking of its implications, she swam headlong towards it. Soo-Won was kneeling down in front of her. He reached out with his hands, then hesitated, leaving them hovering over her lap. When she made no move to resist, he slowly grasped her trembling hands in his own and squeezed them. "… It appears I have made you displeased again," he remarked wryly. Despite it all, Yona sniffed self-deprecatingly.

"No. It is my own mind that is the problem," she answered wretchedly. "I simply do not know what to do with you, Soo-Won, and it maddens me." He glanced up at her with slightly wide eyes, then smirked dryly.

"If I told you that you don't have to do anything with me, would you listen?" His own tone of voice indicated that he already thought he knew the answer. Before the establishment of the alliance, it would surely be right; Yona would scoff and agree that no, she would not listen. That's what would have made sense to her. However, nothing made sense to Yona anymore. After months of spiraling down into a maelstrom of secrets and plots and myths made reality, nothing made sense at all. All Yona wanted was to reach out grasp the one thing that _could_ make sense to her, even if it went against everything she had learned and experienced up until then. None of that made sense either; she knew not how all the puzzle pieces fit together. All she wanted was to shove the puzzle aside and for one brief, short, single moment, _breathe_.

"Yes," she answered before her addled mind could convince her otherwise. Her eyelashes fluttered as she committed herself to the decision, and then repeated again more softly, "Yes… Just for one moment… I want to pretend that's true." His expression was calculating as he tilted his head to the side and searched her face for any sign of hesitation or insecurity. No such sign appeared. Yona closed her eyes as a sense of calm swept back over her just by the way he squeezed her hands again. _Just for one moment… I want things to be uncomplicated. _

On some level, she knew the kiss was coming. She knew the instant his hands met her cheeks. She knew the instant his thumbs swept away her falling tears. She knew the instant he ever-so-slightly tilted her head and the instant his warm breath ghosted her face. She knew it was coming, and she shamelessly welcomed it. Maybe she _had_ gone mad, during those days isolated in her room poring over possibilities and hypotheticals. Maybe she _had_ descended into insanity, but just for _one_ _moment_, Yona wanted to delve into that madness where _somehow_ things made sense.

She sighed in relief the moment his lips met hers. She leaned into the kiss, moving her mouth in tandem with his, and reached out to grab onto the front of his robes. His hands fell from her face to her shoulders, slowly making their way south until he had a firm hold on her waist. A small moan reverberated in her throat when she parted her lips and his tongue immediately moved in to claim hers. The chair creaked as she shifted forward, legs bumping into his as she searched for any semblance of closeness. It wasn't enough, not _nearly_ enough. She wanted to feel him, to _know_ him. She keened with a needy whine, hoping Soo-Won would understand her wordless plea.

In an impressive display of athleticism that contradicted his fair physique, he deftly and swiftly wrestled her from the chair and spun her around, such that he was now seated, and she was sitting in his lap. At first, she was sitting with her legs hanging off the side; however, pressing herself into him was incredibly awkward and still didn't provide that proximity she craved. With a grunt of frustration, she loosened her obi and opened her kimono just enough that she could swing her leg around and straddle him. Soo-Won made a choking noise of shock as she surged forward to kiss him with a ferocity, every square millimeter of her torso pressed against his.

The hairpin securing a segment of her red hair clattered noisily to the floor as his hands fisted the wavy tufts; they soon fell away to run down her back, pulling her loose kimono away from her shoulders. She whimpered as his mouth left her bruised lips, only to sigh contentedly as his lips reconnected with her neck. His name left her mouth like a divine prayer as he planted kisses down her neck, along the column of her throat, and then across her right shoulder. He finally stopped there, mouth resting against her flushed skin as he side-eyed her thoughtfully. She had her head tilted back, eyes lidded and hazed as she gazed up at the ceiling. Lost in the fog, where reality couldn't touch her. So lost that it took her a moment to realize that Soo-Won had stopped showering her in his affections. Slowly, it dawned on her how very improper the whole thing was, and every inch of her face turned the color of her hair.

"Feeling better?" She felt him smirk against her skin. Blushing fiercely, she looked in the opposite direction of him but made no move to get up. She _was_ feeling better. The tempest had receded back into the depths, biding its time for another moment of weakness. He took her silence as affirmation. He snorted in laughter and rested his cheek on her shoulder, staring at her in mild amusement. Yona, realizing how close she was to unveiling her modesty, pulled the front of her kimono together with her hands. "Yona?"

"What?" She couldn't force any venom in her voice if she wanted to. She'd just let the man kiss her like a common harlot; she couldn't pretend that she hated him now. Her mouth twitched with the urge to frown, and she rolled her eyes in their sockets to meet his heady gaze. The look in his eyes electrified her. There was no pity or triumph burning in those pools- only affection and longing. His hand shifted at her back, holding her tenderly to his body.

"If I told you that you could trust me, would you listen?" Her mouth ran dry and her throat bobbed like she was trying to choke down a rock-hard biscuit. _Trust. _That was a very complicated notion. Yona had not trusted Soo-Won from the moment she had watched him yank a blood-soaked sword from her father's limp corpse. She wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to. Yona wanted to trust Soo-Won more than anything in her life. It would make things so simple. It would take her maddening reality and just paint it all in black and white; blissfully, she could just submit to that trust and everything complicated would all go away.

But yet… But _yet_…

"No." He offered no resistance as she climbed off him and turned her back. With numb fingers still tingling with exhilaration, she fixed her disheveled kimono and refastened her obi snug around her waist. "No, Soo-Won. I wouldn't." Tears glistened on her lashes and she discretely flicked them away with her index finger.

"That's fair." He had said that the other night, too. _That's fair. _Was it? Yona didn't truly know. But that was the reality of things, in this mad world of hers. She could trust herself; she could trust Hak; she could trust Yoon and her dragons. No matter how much she wanted to, no matter if she loved him so much it was painful and allowed him to romance her as he wished… She couldn't _trust_ him.

And that was the only thing that truly made sense.

The chair squeaked as he reclined back against it. She glanced over her shoulder at him as he sighed deeply and rested his arm on the desk, the other stringing his fingers through his slightly sweaty blonde locks. He made no move to fix his ruffled robes, but instead picked up the tome he had discarded earlier and flipped it back open. Yona finally remembered the words she was going to utter earlier.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll be retiring to my room now."

"Goodnight," came his only response, but he did not miss the way his eyes flickered to her form to watch her leaving. Just as she reached the door, he called out to her. "Yona." She froze in the doorway. Was he going to ask her to stay with him tonight? Honestly, she didn't know if she had the will to refuse him, as much as that would _complicate_ things. She did not look back, afraid of what his expression would be. "… If you can't trust me, trust in my love for the people." The utterance caught her off guard. She stood in the threshold for a few seconds, processing it. Yes. Yes, she could trust in that. If anything, she knew deep down that he wanted what was best for the country.

"All right. Goodnight." And with that, she left. He may have had her trust, but that did not mean that Yona was giving up. After all, if she did not continue fighting to uncover the truth, what was her purpose in this web of lies, deceit, and secrets? Yes, Yona would still fight, even if she believed in Soo-Won's will to protect the people.

After all, in this mad, confusing, scary world, the fact that they were somehow working together made a _comfortable_ amount of sense… but not enough. Not nearly enough.


	15. Happy Hungry Babysitters

Category: General Fluff

Characters: Yona, Hak, Shin-ah, Yoon, Jae-Ha, Zeno, Kija

Requested By: Scarlet (Ao3)

A content smile decorated Yona's face as she reclined underneath the shade of a towering oak tree. Its emerald-green leaves blanketed the expanse above her head to shield her from the worst of the sun's hot rays, allowing only thin beams to spear down and blot across her cloak and pink gown in little gold circles. The space underneath the forest's thick canopy was as cool as a springtime night. Snuggled within the tree's twisted, gnarled roots, Yona rested safe and content.

Not too far off, her companions were gathered around a small campfire smoking some trout from the nearby river. The pungent aroma of smoke, grilling meat, and the faintest hint of salt made her nose wriggle; from the tang of the salt and smoky fish flesh on her tongue, their lunch was nearly ready. With a high-pitched whine, she slowly eased her stiff body into a sitting position and stretched her arms above her head. Her muscles uncoiled and her joints popped, spreading the satisfying sensation of wakefulness through her body and bones. Just as she was standing to walk over to the small encampment, the musky forest air rang with the snap of a twig.

Everyone was instantly on high alert. Sooner than she had even registered that he had moved, Hak was at her side with his arm slung across her chest in a protective gesture. The air was now filled with crunching leaves, shaking leaves, and snapping sticks from the underbrush directly in front of Yona. Her dragons crept forward to crouch in a shielding semi-circle around her. Yona plucked her bow from where it rested against the tree trunk and notched a single arrow; she did not yet draw the string and prepare to fire, for she had no idea whether the stranger approaching was friend or foe. The sounds of their advance were raucous and uncaring. If they were an enemy, either they were completely clueless to how much noise they were making, or they were so confident in their abilities that they righteously didn't care. The group collectively held their breath as the bush directly in front of them rattled wildly, and then-

A toddler waddled out from within the spiny leaves. He stopped, gawking at the group of young adults with wide sea-green eyes and sticking his dirty fist in his mouth to lick at his chubby knuckles. All of their mouths hung open in utter shock as they gaped back at the little boy, still holding up their weapons threateningly. Yona was the first to move.

"Why, hello there, little one!" she smiled kindly and threw her bow and arrow down to the ground. She ducked underneath Hak's arm to hurry over to the little child, and he craned his head back to stare up at her. He was the cutest thing, with wavy straw-colored hair curling just above his shoulders and ruddy, round cheeks. Yona crouched down in front of him, and he followed her motion, keeping eye contact with her all the while. "What are you doing so far in the forest by yourself? Where's your mother?"

"It's a baby," Jae-ha gulped.

"Yeah, we noticed," Hak grunted back and leaned his weapon against the tree before joining Yona at the toddler's side. The quiet boy tore his gaze away from the princess to stare at Hak, still sucking on his fist. "He can't be older than a year and a half." Yona agreed with the assessment; his steps were unsure and fumbling, and he didn't seem to know many words. She would be surprised if he were even one year in age. The toddler looked back to Yona again and shuffled forward to touch her cheek, and then cooed happily. His round, sausage-like fingers petted her dawn-colored hair with evident admiration.

"Red!" he asserted confidently.

"That's right! It's red," she agreed, easing herself down on her knees. The baby immediately clambered up into her lap, sitting contentedly on her plush thighs and gurgling contentedly while playing with the soft silk of her dress. "This little one is lucky to have stumbled upon us. Who knows what might have attacked him out here," she tutted with a frown. She began to stroke his soft, fine hair, and he clapped his hands gleefully, bouncing a little in her lap. "It is imperative that we find his mother…"

"He can't have traveled too far… After all, he is but a small child," Kija grimaced as he approached. The baby took notice of the white dragon's coming and ogled him with those wide green eyes, then pointed at his head.

"White!"

"He certainly is a smart fellow," Shin-ah sniffed while peeking over the blushing Kija's shoulder. He sounded amused, but it was hard to tell with the mask and the blank expression of his mouth. The baby gawked at his colorful mask, then squealed with delight as Ao appeared on his shoulder. Babbling, he groped for the chipmunk insistently. The rodent seemed to understand his request and scuttled down Kija's arm to rest on his hand, chittering like it was having a conversation with the young child. He clapped his hands again before reaching out to pat Ao gently on the head. Ao nuzzled into his palm, making him scream in utter glee, before returning to Shin-ah's shoulder.

"Aren't you going to look at the baby?" Yoon asked Jae-Ha, who was standing several feet away and looking very uncomfortable.

"I don't like babies."

"What? But he's so _cute_, Jae-Ha!" Yona protested, and as proof, lifted the baby for him to see. The toddler stared brightly up at the green-haired man, rolling his tongue around the whole fist shoved into his mouth. Jae-Ha scowled as drool puddled onto the luscious grass blades below.

"Keep that gross thing away from me!" Yona pouted and lowered the baby back into her arms, bouncing him against her shoulder. The toddler once more became transfixed with her strands of dawn-red hair and shoved a thick swathe of it in his mouth to suck on it. She didn't much notice, too busy trying to riddle out how he wandered out into the woods alone.

"His mother must be worried sick," she sighed. The baby spat out her hair, now maroon as it was dripping wet with spit, and it stuck thickly to her neck. The boys looked on with expressions ranging from concern to awe to disgust as she ignored it. "We should walk in the direction he came from to see if we can happen upon someone, or a village, even. Someone should know where this little guy came from!"

"I agree," Yoon nodded. "We certainly can't continue on our journey with a random baby."

"We're already criminals. Why not add kidnapping to the list?" Jae-ha joked, earning a sharp jab to the ribs as Hak walked by him. The tall man leaned against the tree, wheezing as his intercostal muscles burned. "It was a joke, Thunder Beast… A _joke_…"

So, with the mystery baby in tow, the Happy Hungry Bunch set out in search of a mother.

Yona and Hak were in front, with the princess carrying the toddler. He remained completely calm, ogling the wonders of the forest over her shoulder. She much liked lugging him about; he had that pleasant milky baby smell, and his happy coos and gurgles were music to her ears. She loved the way his fat little fingers played with her hair. She talked kindly to him, pointing out random things that he eyed. Every time she spoke, he clapped his hands excitedly and reached out to touch whatever she was talking about, if it was indeed touchable. The curious baby very nearly grabbed a fistful of poison oak, and she had to yank him away at the last moment and occupy him with a butterfly flitting by to keep him from getting upset.

"I never knew you were so good with babies," Hak remarked after about thirty minutes of tromping through the woods. Yona blinked at him, then gave the baby a small smile. It seemed he had tired himself out with all the investigating and was lying with his head propped on her shoulder, sucking his thumb. He was trying desperately to stay awake, but his eyes continuously drooped and fluttered with encroaching sleep.

"Tired," he mumbled.

She stroked his soft blond hair a few times before looking back to Hak.

"I didn't know, either," she snickered.

"It seems our Yona has good maternal instincts," Jae-Ha quipped from a few paces behind them. Yona flushed at the very suggestive grin splitting his thin face. "She'll make someone a good wif-"

Yona never really was sure if it was divine intervention in the form of a protruding tree root or Kija's foot. Still, whatever he tripped over, it made Jae-Ha immediately faceplant into the detritus. The group howled with laughter as he slowly leaned up, spitting decaying leaf litter out of his mouth. All the commotion made the baby sit up, his head bobbling and eyes blinking blearily as he tried to determine what all the hubbub was about. He looked down at Jae-Ha, still sprawled in the grass and dirt practically seething, and began to laugh good-naturedly. Jae-Ha sniffed derisively at the toddler before sitting up and brushing leaves and twigs from his clothes. "Little smartass," he grumbled under his breath.

"You know what I've been thinking?" Hak said suddenly. He was staring thoughtfully at the toddler. Yona looked between the tall warrior and the chubby baby, unsure just what he was so transfixed with. "That baby looks a lot like Soo-Won." Yona's wide eyes beheld the sleepy toddler for a few seconds before the resemblance finally struck her like a bolt from the blue.

"Oh my goodness! He does!" His eyes were the same shade of green as Soo-Won's, and the color of his hair was an exact match as well; it even possessed the same amount of bounce and wave. Pursing her lips, Yona held out the baby at a small distance to stare intently at it. The toddler continued to suck its thumb obliviously with his sock-clad feet kicking a little in the air. For the first time, she noticed that the child was actually dressed in lavish clothes; all the dirt and grime he had accumulated tromping through the underbrush had masked it, but he was wearing a rich red robe-like garment with gold accents and very clean bloomers. He was most certainly a child of a noble. "It couldn't be time-travel, could it?! Is this Soo-Won from the past?" she whispered in quiet awe.

"If we kill him, will everything that's happened up until now be reversed?" Jae-Ha frowned and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Yona inhaled in pure revulsion and smothered the baby protectively into her chest, tossing an affronted glare his way. He quickly threw up his hands in surrender. "It was a joke! Man, tough _crowd_ today…"

"No, it wasn't," Shin-ah piped up from beside him. Jae-Ha gave him a cranky side-eye.

"Don't worry, baby. I won't let any of these mean boys hurt you," Yona cooed as she nuzzled the crown of his head with her cheek. The toddler warbled pleasantly in response.

"Guys, this is not King Soo-Won from the past," Yoon snorted with a cantankerous roll of his eyes. "Seriously, the baby had more maturity than you do. He just happens to look like him."

"Can you prove it?" Zeno grinned from his perch on a rotting tree stump. Yoon glowered at him, but kept his mouth shut because he knew he couldn't definitively prove it, and Zeno stuck out his tongue at the young boy with a devilish and self-satisfied snicker.

"Of course it isn't Soo-Won," Hak huffed and took the baby from Yona's arms to hold it out and give it a disapproving once-over. "I was just saying they looked alike. That's all." The toddler blinked brightly at Hak, sucking on his fist again. He then squealed and reached out to slap his spit-covered hand against Hak's cheek. The knight grimaced in utter disgust as the thick, goopy liquid slowly dripped down his face, while the baby howled with shrieking laughter.

"He likes you!" Yona grinned. Hak wasted no time in handing the baby back to her.

"Yeah. Sure," Hak grunted and wiped the spit off his face with his sleeve. Yona began bouncing the baby in her arms again, and his big head plopped down on her shoulder. He yawned loudly before sticking his thumb back in his mouth and sucking on it contentedly, then snuggled up into Yona's neck. She hummed a senseless tune under her breath while slowly swaying from side to side and bouncing his round body gently. "We need to find his mother. I can't believe we've been walking thirty minutes and haven't come upon anyone."

"There's no telling how much his path twisted and turned," Kija frowned. "We could have walked in the entirely wrong direction."

"That's encouraging, Kija," Jae-Ha lamented wearily.

Just as the group was beginning to debate turning in another direction, Hak hurriedly shushed them and glanced off into the forest. A voice was floating on the dank forest air- a woman's voice. It rapidly grew closer and louder in pitch, and the panic was clear in her voice. Yona grinned brightly at Hak.

"It must be his mother! Come on!" She ignored his orders to wait and took off into the forest in the direction of the woman's cries. Before she could reach her, however, she stumbled into some brambles. The tiny barbs dug into the hem of her dress like prickling teeth, shredding the fine fabric but refusing to release it at Yona's insistent tugging. "Oh, my, what a mess-! Ma'am?! Ma'am, are you looking for a baby?" she called out into the wilderness, deciding that it was useless to struggle against the thorns and electing to instead attract the woman to her. The cries stopped short with Yona's yelling, soon replaced by very frantic crashing in the underbrush. A nearby hawthorn rattled so violently that several of its red berries rattled to the ground before a breathless, red-faced, wild-eyed young woman burst through.

"Oh, my baby! There you are!" she wailed with relief. She surged towards Yona, tripping over her own feet from running too fast, and landed on her hands and knees right in front of the bramble thicket. The woman groped at Yona's dress in an effort to reach her son, sobbing so hard she couldn't breathe, and Yona encouragingly shushed her while holding out the baby to her. She hugged him tightly to her bosom, stroking his hair and cradling him while choking out words of gratitude: "Oh- _hic_\- thank you so much, I- _hic_\- I turned around, and he was just _gone_! _Hic- ungh- _I've been searching _everywhere_ for him! I thought- _hic_\- I thought he had been snatched up by something _awful_, and I- I- I- oh, my _darling_ baby, I'm _so glad_ you're all right!"

By this time, the boys had caught up to Yona. Hak cursed under his breath and knelt to begin carefully disentangling the ruined hem of her dress from the clinging brambles. Yona smiled brightly at the woman when she looked up with wide, teary eyes. "I must repay you somehow. Money? I have money, or food, or anything-!"

"It's all right, ma'am. We don't-" Before she could finish, Jae-Ha clapped his hand over her mouth and leaned over her shoulder with a charming smile laced with just the smallest hint of roguish mischief.

"Some warm food and a place to sleep would be _marvelous_, madam."

The Happy Hungry Bunch, ironically, had only been another two or three minutes from the baby's home, which turned out to be a prominent city. The woman's husband was the local steward of the settlement, explaining the baby's apparent status. He was similarly beside himself at the toddler's disappearance. As his wife and Yona came strolling up, swinging the happy baby between them, he actually fell down the steps of his lofty home trying to reach him. Yona looked on happily as the family reunited. Many tears were shed at the toddler's return, by the parents and the servants alike. It was clear that he was very cherished and loved. _I hope he grows up in a warm and untroubled home, _she prayed.

The group was repaid with a warm welcome, warm food, and warm showers. The mother had stumbled into the guest bedroom just as she was dressing and, of course, recognized her dawn-red hair immediately. She was very gracious about Yona's wishes not to be outed and provided her with a silk headwrap to cover her conspicuous locks. The silk dress was smooth on Yona's freshly-washed skin, and the fragrance of milk and honey soap clung to her petite frame mingling with the pleasant rose perfume the lady of the house had loaned her. They enjoyed a rowdy dinner, regaling the nobles with modified tales of their exploits, and retired deep into the night with full bellies and happy smiles. The steward's wife let Yona rock the baby to sleep and place him in his cradle. Just as the princess was slipping down the hall to scurry to her bedroom, she encountered her bodyguard. He was sitting beside her bedroom door, hunched over. He had most likely fallen asleep awaiting her return.

"Hak," she called softly as she knelt beside him and shook his shoulder. He did not jerk or gasp, but instead cracked an eye open to look at her. He had not been asleep after all- only resting his eyes. "Thank you for waiting up for me," she smiled graciously. His lips curled into a thin smile, and he reclined back against the wall, stretching out one of his long legs with no care if someone might trip over it.

"Always, Princess."

"That baby was adorable," she mused cheerfully. Though it was late in the evening, her interactions with the toddler had left her invigorated and humming with energy. Hak smirked airily with a nod of agreement.

"Yeah. Kinda scary how much he looked like Soo-Won, though."

"Indeed," she giggled. The little bubble of happiness inspired by the comment soon burst inside her, however, replaced by numbing sadness. Soo-Won's name could only bring her sorrow and regret now. Hak noticed her change in mood immediately and scooted closer to her, reaching up to grab her head and nestle it into his shoulder softly. She did not retreat from the intimate action but rather welcomed it. Her hand curled into the thick fabric of his sleeve, and she exhaled miserably. "What am I going to do, Hak?"

"Just keep going," he answered. "Just keep pushing forward and try to make the world a better place for kids like him." A smile blossomed on her face. It was a lovely sentiment and a very Hak thing to say.

"Yes…" She could get up and crawl into the been that had been offered her, but to her sleep-addled mind, leaning against Hak was infinitely more comfortable. As she reclined against him, his body heat lulling her into a sense of security, her eyes began to droop. _I'll make the world a much better place, so that families like this can live carefree and happy… _

_You'll see, Soo-Won… You'll see. _


	16. Dawn and Dusk Part III

Category: Romantic Fluff, Angst

Characters: Yona, Soo-Won

Requested By: Cherryblossom98 (Ao3)

As Yona knelt amongst the fur-lined blankets and feather pillows strewn across the tent floor, she could not help but wonder if she had made the right decision.

_Alliance. _The word bounced around in her otherwise empty cavern of a skull. Such a simple concept, yet for Yona, it carried enough implications to capsize even the stoutest of packhorses. _An alliance with Soo-Won. _His name was both titillating and dreadful. It made her skin crawl like a parade of ants marched over it, but also sent a pleasurable shudder traveling up to her spine to the base of her neck. Though it had been so long ago, Yona could recollect their night in the encampment so vividly, as if it had occurred only yesterday. Her body hummed with the ghosts of his hands roaming over her clothes. Her lips burned with the phantasms of his hot mouth and tongue. Her heart raced as his whispers echoed in her ear.

"_If not forever, then just for tonight?" _

Yona's head rolled on her neck as another tingling tremor rocked her body. Her eyes then snapped open, and she released an affronted gasp. Her nerves ceased their singing as she forced every memory of that night from the forefront of her mind. Screaming irately, she flung one of the throw pillows across the tent. The fabric rippled with the blow, and as it was close to the flap, the entrance fluttered wildly to allow some of the cool evening air to whoosh into the tent and kiss her pink, heated skin.

_I am venturing into dangerous, unknown territory, _she lamented woefully.

Yona had realized that to discover the hidden secrets and nuances of her country, she would have to do some rooting in Hiryuu Castle- and carefully observe the new king, Soo-Won. Thus, she had proposed an alliance between the Sky Kingdom and the cohort of Celestial Dragons. They were a long way from home, and so after marching all day, the soldiers had thrown up an encampment for them to rest for the night. Yona had been given her own tent at Soo-Won's insistence, pitched several yards from her dragons' and Hak's. She had already seen the shadow of the Thunder Beast flicker over the fabric walls as he stubbornly patrolled the perimeter.

Ironically, or perhaps purposely, Soo-Won's royal tent was also nearby. Yona could see its flags lazily flapping in the wind from the entrance of her tent. The realization that Soo-Won rested within walking distance from her position produced a visceral reaction with her. That dichotomous disbalance she had experienced the last time she had been under Soo-Won's care reignited within her; she had the urge to run to him, to _throw_ herself at him. Yet she also had the desire to wrench up her tent and pitch it as far away from his as she could.

The roiling emotions exhausted Yona. The cushions and comforters embraced her as she sprawled onto them, lying on her back to frown at the pyramidal cloth ceiling. Dusk was descending; she could tell by the red-gold light filtering in through the fibers, and how the glow faded with each passing moment. She fingered the tassels of the embroidered pillow that cushioned her head as nausea twisted her belly into painful knots. Tears prickled in the corners of her eyes. With a woeful sniffle, she rolled onto her side and hugged a pillow to her chest.

Yona wanted to be strong, for her country and her people and her friends. Yet, it was so hard to be strong when the weight of so much responsibility crushed her. During moments like this, when the world and darkness came closing in, Yona would allow herself to brood on this thought: _I wish none of this had ever happened. I wish Father were still alive, and Soo-Won was still Soo-Won. _

Of course, she knew such wishes were _incredibly_ selfish. Her people had suffered needlessly under her father's reign, and Soo-Won's intentions- regardless of if they were surrounded by murder and secrecy- were to restore the country to peace and prosperity. However, Yona was but a young girl thrust into a world of betrayal, war, and strife. She could only bear so much weight upon her small shoulders until she collapsed. Yona would eventually dry her tears, dust off her kimono, and rise to carry the responsibilities again. Yet, for just a few short moments, she just wanted to be a normal girl allowed to wail her frustrations into the plush of a pillow.

The fabric was surprisingly breathable as she buried her face into it, and shrilly screamed. The fibers muffled the sound, but it accomplished the intended effect. Yona felt the tension melt from her muscles, and the tears stopped flowing as readily. With a petulant sniff, she pulled away to find smudges of water and snot staining the wine-red material. She turned it over to the clean side before laying her head on it, arching her back to stretch her aching spinal and shoulder muscles. Perhaps they were phantom pains from her imaginary load, but they hurt, nonetheless.

Just as Yona was beginning to drift into the twilight of half-sleep, she heard the flap of her tent flutter. She peered through the gloom to see a tall shadowy figure framed by the starlight. In her bleariness, she assumed it to be Hak, and so that was whose name she uttered. Her dawn-red eyes fluttered rapidly as the figure stepped into the tent, and she caught the flash of long, straw-colored hair and kingly white robes.

"No, Yona, it's me."

Yona jerked up as Soo-Won spoke. All traces of weariness flushed from her system as adrenaline gushed into her veins. Holding the pillow to her torso like a shield, she regarded him warily. With the fading light streaming in through the now-open tent flap, she could see a sad frown on his fair features. "You still fear me?" It was an honest question, not laced with the false croons of manipulation. Soo-Won genuinely lamented the idea that Yona feared him.

Pursing her lips, she adjusted herself and rested the pillow on her lap to feign ease. It wasn't that she thought Soo-Won would do her harm; she feared to let her guard down around him, because her old feelings were drudging up again. She had to be careful and sound of mind, lest they swallow her entirely so that she drowned in euphoria and things that she wanted so badly but could never be.

"It's not that. I was nearly asleep; you just frightened me."

"I see." His voice rang hollowly, devoid of emotion. Perhaps he believed her; maybe he didn't. Either way, he crossed the small tent to kneel a respectable distance away yet close enough to reveal familiarity. "I came to see if you had settled in well," he reported simply. Yona shuffled her legs underneath her to keep her calves from growing numb.

"Yes, indeed. I thank you for your hospitality," Yona uttered robotically, just reciting the gratuitous words that had been ingrained in her as a child. Soo-Won continued to gaze at her measuredly. His piercing eyes unsettled her deeply, causing her to fidget and squirm relentlessly. Her skin flushed, and her nerves tingled with the expectation of his hands wandering the planes of her body. Her tongue flickered out to wet her lips. Immediately, Soo-Won's eyes dropped to stare at her pink mouth with a raw intensity. The passionate look made Yona's hot body flush further with want.

Just as she found herself leaning forward to crawl towards him, she stopped herself.

_No! Yona, do __**not**__ yield to such base temptations! _She scolded herself. If she could have slapped herself, she would've. As her muscles tensed, Soo-won's gazed raked back up to her dawn-red eyes. "As I told you, I was nearly asleep. I'm quite tired," she grumbled. The order, unspoken, burned within her words. Soo-Won continued to stare levelly at her with no apparent intentions to move. _Must I speak it plainly? _She thought with a scowl forming on her lips. "Soo-Won-"

"Do you love me, Yona?"

Her face flushed nearly as red as her hair. She pressed her lips together to form a thin white line. Her mind flew to their passionate encounter in the tent just across the border from Sei. _I love you. _She had almost uttered the words. Of course she loved him. _**Of course**__ she loved him. _She had loved him for so long, and despite everything that had happened so far, she _still _loved him! Frustrated tears sprung to the corners of her eyes and her bottom lip wobbled. She didn't want to say. She _couldn't _say, because if she did, everything would change.

Yet say it she did.

"I _do _love you, Soo-Won. I love you so much it pains me," she whispered. A tense silence settled between them, broken only by the chirping of the crickets inhabiting the long grasses surrounding the tent. Slowly, he crawled forward until he was seated in front of her, knees just barely brushing hers. Yona stared forlornly at her hands, which were clasped in her lap, to watch the tears puddle on her skin as they dripped down from her chin. Soo-Won's fingers came into her circle of vision to wrap lightly around her own. His index finger trailed along the side of hers, and the tender touch sent electric sparks jumping along her nerves. Her red eyes watched as his finger continued to lightly stroke over her skin. "Soo-Won," she sighed quietly.

"I know," he frowned. His hands slid up Yona's arms, pushing up the long cotton sleeves of her modest kimono. Goosebumps rose in the wake of his touch, making her nerves wail in reverent choir along her forearms. "You can't forgive me." Yona swallowed thickly as a hard lump formed in her throat, and she gave him a tiny nod. Every time she would even consider forgiving him, she would envision her father's body slumped on the floor, a puddle of blood slowly forming around him and staining his kingly clothes ruby red. His hand suddenly brushed over her cheek, and she automatically sought out more of his touch, pressing her face into his palm. Her tears smeared over the soft plane of his hand.

_Why? _She lamented. _Why do I love him so, when I should do nothing but despise him? _Well, it was because she knew it was complicated, the little voice in the back of her head chimed helpfully. It was oh so complicated. He held both her cheeks now, leaning forward to press his forehead against hers. His voice was softer than the first breeze of spring carrying the aroma of the budding flowers. "Yona, I _never _intended for you to get hurt. More than anything, I wanted you to understand, and be by my side to watch this country of ours return to former glory." A flood of acid burned her mouth at the word _ours. _He was the king, and she the princess, so grammatically it was correct. She still _loathed_ the idea of sharing responsibility for her people with Soo-Won. Yet, that was the reality- _their _reality.

"I don't understand anything anymore," she whispered back, sniffling. "The further I delve, I just grow more and more confused… Please, Soo-Won, just tell me plainly- why did you murder my father? What are you trying to accomplish with your rule? I _must _know!" she begged. Her hands leaped forward to curl into the silk fabric of his robes, twisting them into tight knots. A shadow darkened Soo-Won's face as he lowered his head such that it rested against her collarbone; she had to crane her head back to avoid getting a mouthful of his pale gold hair. His arms slid around her waist to hug her tightly. He remained silent for several seconds.

"I can't _tell_ you, Yona," he said finally. Yona's body slumped down with a cold rush of disappointment and defeat. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back further to peer up at the pyramidal ceiling of the tent. Dusk had descended in full; the light gracing the world was now a soft silver. _No, _she thought morosely, _of course you can't. _Yona would have expected a visceral reaction to his words- anger, hurt, frustration. Instead, she just felt cold and numb. The emotions swirling around in her body- the love, hate, desire, and fear- exhausted her thoroughly.

"Not yet. Not yet." She looked down at his head, and her eyes widened. Soo-Won's entire body slumped heavily against her, and his fingers clawed into the back of her kimono, as if he was clutching onto her to avoid being swept out into a stormy and perilous sea. Yona regarded him piteously; he looked so… _weary_.

"Soo-Won," she murmured. Slowly, she leaned down to press a light kiss to the top of his head. In response, he tightened his grip on her. Yona stared silently down into his straw-colored waves of hair, and then slipped her fingers into the threads to stroke them absentmindedly. It was true that Yona bore a heavy burden, trapped in this web of mystery, but undoubtedly Soo-Won bore the weight of the world as well. She rested her cheek against his head with a small exhale. "I cannot forgive you… But I can understand that you have regrets," she murmured. He shifted against her, pressing his nose into her sternum.

"There is so much right now that I don't know and don't understand," she said thickly as the tears sprung to her eyes. They beaded across Soo-Won's hair like dewdrops as she buried her face into it. It was all too much to bear. For a few short moments, Yona wanted to pretend that everything was all right, and she could love Soo-Won freely. "But I know that I _love_ you. So I shall stay with you, at least for tonight."

Soo-Won's body stiffened like steel in her arms.

"Are you sure, Yona?" His voice was a low rumble that vibrated deep in her bones and made her eyes flutter sensually. The tip of his nose nudged aside the front of her kimono to trail along her collarbone before traveling slowly up the column of her neck; Yona craned her head back to allow him access, only responding with a small simpering whine. His hands secured around her hips to hold her solidly in place. She felt her mind descending into a hazy, blissful fog.

No political games, no cat-and-mouse chase, no murder plots or kings and princesses embroiled in a struggle for a throne. Simply Soo-Won and Yona, like she had always _wanted_. Perhaps it was unwise of her to submit to her feelings, but Yona had committed to flinging herself into the pit of oblivion.

_I just want to imagine that things can be between us, if only for one night. _

Yona didn't recall falling backward, but in the next moment, Soo-Won had her pinned underneath him. He peppered searing, open-mouthed kisses up the length of her jugular; the titillating sensation made her keen and mewl and paw at his clothes. Finally, he pulled himself up so that his face hovered over hers. Yona's face was flushed and heated, and she panted slightly with expectation. Tenderly, he brushed the pads of his fingers over her lips.

Then he dove down to capture her mouth with his own. Yona's back arched as he swept her into a passionate, messy kiss. One of his hands pushed into her tresses of dawn-red hair while the other coursed over her curves, stroking harshly over the soft fabric. The tip of his tongue swept over her bottom lip, pleading for entry, and Yona readily complied. The muscle fervently tangled with her own, and every swirl within her mouth sent pulses of heat through her already flushing body. That cascade of emotion began rippling through her, the confusing waterfalls of hurt and sadness and happiness and hate and love that pooled together in a chaotic maelstrom. As it took hold of her, her movements became sluggish and half-hearted.

She wanted to keep kissing him, but oh, how she desired to shove him away and curse him and taint his name with obscenities. At one point, her eyes cracked open to see Soo-Won's sea-green eyes boring into hers. It felt like he could see into the depths of her very soul. Those blue irises were like a tremendous oncoming wave of reality and accusation that threatened to overtake her any moment, and Yona felt panic flood through her veins. Her body stiffened, like she had been petrified.

Did she _really_ want this? Or was it just pure escapism?

Yona wasn't sure how long they kissed, but he finally pulled away in that moment. She sucked in a big gulp of air, chest heaving for oxygen.

His eyes were lidded as he nosed her cheek. With her red eyelashes fluttering, she peered wearily at him. His sea-blue eyes regarded her with a rapt fascination, like he was drinking every minute detail of her face; his index finger continuously stroked her other cheek in feather-light touches. Yona was not aware she was crying until she felt the wetness roll down her cheek. The tear caught on his fingertip as it moved over her cheekbone, spreading the salty water over her skin. Soo-Won smiled wanly as he again rested his forehead against hers.

"You hate me, don't you?"

The heavy mist that had descended over her mind was clearing, leaving behind the bitter taste of regret. Yona's throat bobbed as she attempted to swallow the hard lump in her throat, but it remained stubbornly lodged there. The teardrops clung to her red eyelashes as they flapped repeatedly. Soo-Won had obviously sensed the complicated feelings gripping her and had ceased his actions accordingly. She wasn't sure whether she was disappointed or relieved.

_Hate. _Yona had never considered how strong the word was until that moment. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she pondered the question.

"You? No. I don't hate _you_. I hate what has become of us," she murmured finally. She knew she could never bring herself to hate Soo-Won, not really. She could only direct all that hate to the complicated reality that had developed between them as a consequence of her naivety and ignorance. _How pathetic of me, _she thought wryly. Yet, that was the reality of it, something Yona had to live with. Soo-Won smiled dryly and slowly sat up. His blond hair was soft as it brushed over her exposed neck and shoulder.

"That's an eloquent way to put it," he chuckled. The iron edge to his voice cut through Yona like a knife. With a weary sigh, he swept his hair behind his shoulder. He then glanced out of the flap of the tent, which was still flapping in the night breeze. The white moonlight streamed in through the triangular-shaped gap to bathe over Yona and ignite her red hair into ruby threads. While she basked in the light, Soo-Won was framed by the shadows. The darkness cast harsh lines onto his face, making his usually soft and pretty features hard-edged and intimidating. His eyes glinted at her like chips of aquamarine, thoughtful. "I hate what's become of us," he echoed, but more like he was analyzing the statement than agreeing with it.

Though Yona had offered to stay with him, Soo-Won rose to leave. She knew that it was for the best; it was unwise to complicate their situation any further. She rolled onto her side as he made for the entrance of the tent. Resting her head on the wine-red pillow, she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. Her heart still hammered in her chest, reacting to the ghosts of Soo-Won's hands on her body and his lips against hers, hot and heavy.

"Yona," Soo-Won called suddenly. She opened her eyes to peer curiously at him. He smiled faintly at her, silhouetted by the moonlight. "See you at dawn." Then he was gone. He pinned the flap behind him, and the tent became enveloped in darkness. Yona stared at the place he had been for several seconds. Then, she sighed deeply and rolled onto her back to stare up at the ceiling of the tent again.

There was nothing to do but what for dawn to come. Dawn, after this long, long dusk that Yona had been trapped in since the night of her father's death.


	17. A Most Dangerous Game Part II

Category: General Fluff, Mild Romantic Fluff

Characters: Soo-Won, Yona, Son Hak

Requested By: farrah87 (Ao3)

Soo-Won's footsteps were muffled by the plush carpet overlaying the stone castle floor. Night had descended over the country's capital; starlight streamed in through the marbled glass windows, painting wave-like patterns of white on the ruby-red fabric stretching through the hall. Most of the castle had retired to bed; only zealous academics and the castle guard roamed at this hour- and Soo-Won, the king with a ticking time bomb.

He sighed pallidly and swept a swathe of his pale blond hair from his face, grimacing when he found the strands clumped with perspiration. _I have to be careful not to overexert myself… It won't do for the Crimson Illness to get out, _he thought with a small sigh. So easy it was to say that, but so hard to put into practice when Soo-Won had so much to attend to in the shortening period of his life. _I have to ensure this country will prosper and thrive after… _He didn't finish the sobering thought.

A flash of movement caught his eye. He squinted in the gloom at the window a few yards ahead of him; it creaked as it turned inward, spilling the cool night air into the spacious hallway. Soo-Won's eyebrow cocked as a pair of long legs slipped through the open window, clad in loose tan garments. The king momentarily wondered if an assassination attempt would shatter his daily humdrum. The prospect disappeared as the person jumped down from the sill, flicking his jade-green hair from his face and flashing Soo-Won a confident smirk.

"Well, good evening, Your Majesty." Jae-Ha's voice was like honey, smooth and sweet and unbothered. A pink-faced Kija poked his head through the window next to give the king a frightened look.

"I thought you said we wouldn't be caught?" The white dragon hissed to his comrade as he gracelessly wormed his way down from the window. He landed clumsily on his rump, and crossed his arms to pout at Jae-Ha like it was the taller man's fault. Jae-Ha's smirk remained sharp enough to cleave diamond, while Zeno's head popped into the window next. By this point, Soo-Won was very amused, smiling with a mirthful twinkle in his eyes as he watched the boyish yellow-haired dragon scramble down from the window.

"How lucky are we, to run into Mr. King, huh?" Zeno laughed joyously. Kija had stood up from the ground but was still muttering that they were _unfortunate _for the unplanned encounter. Shin-ah was silent as he climbed through the window, lithe and quiet like a panther. Ao chittered good-naturedly on his shoulder.

"Is the medicine boy coming, or did he elect to stay home?" Soo-Won joked smugly. His gaze swept over the four dragons who'd snuck into the castle with very little fanfare. He didn't know whether to be impressed with the dragons or concerned with the capabilities of his guards. "I assume you've snuck in to see Yona?"

"That's right." Jae-Ha quipped curtly. Soo-Won had assumed that planning the impromptu lunch meeting would come back to nip him in the rear, but he hadn't quite expected the dragons to commit burglary after only a week. He sighed wearily and pinched the bridge of his nose. _They're already here, and I don't exactly think they'll listen to me when I ask them to leave, _he thought sourly.

"Very well. I was on my way to my study to retrieve some documents; Yona's quarters are close by, so I'll escort you there. However, I'll only allow you to visit under my supervision," he said firmly. Allowing Yona to see her beloved dragons kept her complacent, but Soo-Won couldn't allow her to push the envelope. If the dragons were brazen enough to sneak into the castle in the dead of night, thoughts of rebellion and mischief wouldn't have much trouble blooming in their minds. Out of his peripheral vision, Soo-Won saw the dark black blob of his shadow guard, Hiyori, peering around the corner. The man wouldn't act now that Soo-Won had expressed his permission, but his presence still left a sour taste in his mouth. _Joo-Doh and Kye-Sook will surely hear of this… _Groaning, he rubbed his temples as a small headache began to pulse in the front of his skull. _So much for not exerting myself. _

The dragons were quiet as Soo-Won escorted them through the dark castle hall; they exchanged no words during the five-minute stroll to his study. A pair of braziers smoldered beside the door. He instructed the four of them to wait outside while he retrieved his documents. The hour was late, at least ten or eleven, so he was sure that the princess had retired to her bedchamber. That's why he couldn't stifle the shocked gasp when he closed the door behind him and turned around to see Yona curled into a ball on the floor, sobbing pitifully.

"Yona?!" He crossed the room in three quick strides, falling into a kneeling position beside her. The girl moaned forlornly as he gently placed his hands on her shoulders and peered into her tear-streaked face. "Yona…" As her form relaxed, he spied a small leather-bound book clutched in her arms. Yona offered no resistance as he tugged the book from her grip to peer at the cover. A cold flush flooded through his veins, ice water that left every muscle locked and every nerve screaming. His mother's name was written in neat black ink in the upper right corner. _This is… Her memoir, _he realized with cold horror. Another ice-cold flush seared through his veins at the realization that Yona had read the diary cover-to-cover. His windpipe constricted inside his throat, but for the sake of the weeping girl before him, he swallowed the anger and fear and despair in favor of smiling weakly.

"Yona," he shushed as he swept her dawn-red hair from her eyes. "Please don't cry."

"I-i wasn't sure what I was expecting," she choked out between wracking sobs. The heels of her palms dug into her eyes, smearing the tears that continued to fall. "But I… Oh, Soo-Won," she lamented. His eyes widened as she abruptly collapsed against him, embracing him in a tight hug. His hands hovered in the air around her head before slowly drifting down to wrap around her petite frame. Yona had treated him so coldly as of late, so to have the girl burying her face into his sternum and tearing into his clothes as if to anchor him to herself was admittedly disorienting. Still a little stunned, his movements were robotic as he rubbed soothing circles into the small of her back. "I just… I can't believe you're going to _die_."

She whispered the last word, as if uttering it aloud would cause him to collapse then and there.

"Yona," Soo-Won sighed deeply. The idea of death spilled bitter acid over his tongue, but he ignored it in favor of comforting the distraught princess. He rested his cheek against the top of her head, stroking her short tresses of dawn-red hair. He could offer no words of comfort or refusal, however; the girl was right. Whether he liked it or not, Soo-Won's flame was flickering it out, slowly but surely. Soo-Won could only reassure her with his presence. He was not dead yet.

The comfort had its intended effect. Gradually, Yona's sobs quieted into little sniffles. The princess slumped against him, exhausted by her misery. Soo-Won continued to soothingly stroke her back as she fluttered her teary lashes to peer mournfully up at him.

"Soo-Won…"

Fate had a sense of irony, because, in that moment, Soo-Won was gripped by a severe attack. Burning pain blossomed in his skull, and he slumped wholly against Yona. The girl exclaimed as she unexpectedly had to bear the brunt of his weight, and her slim arms wrapped around him to help her shoulder the burden. Soo-Won's breaths came in heavy, ragged gasps, and his vision flared white as the pain seared through his brain tissue. He whined Yona's name as darkness encroached on his field of sight. Like all the times before, he had the oddest sensation of becoming weightless; he drifted down, down, down into the dark abyss, and everything fell away…

* * *

"Soo-Won? Soo-Won!" Yona's voice cracked with fright as the king slumped against her and quickly slipped into unconsciousness. Her body trembled with the terrible weight of him against her and the fear gripping her body. "Help! Someone, help!" she screamed. Her cries bounced around the small study to pierce her eardrums in shrill, frantic cries. She was nearly hyperventilating when her dragons burst into the door, calling her name and demanding to know what was the matter. Yona's mind was so disoriented by Soo-Won's sudden collapse that she didn't even question why her dragons were in the palace in the first place.

"H-h-h-he just fell limp, just like that, I-i-i-i don't know w-what's wrong!" she stammered, words falling off her tongue faster than she could think them. "Oh, Soo-Won, Soo-Won!" The horrible truths contained in Lady Yon-hi's diary were still fresh on her mind, so in her manic state, she believed that Soo-Won could have literally died right in her arms. Fresh tears streamed down her face in thick, salty streams, and her entire body quaked violently with tremors. Jae-Ha and Shin-ah pulled the man's body off of Yona, and she screamed again as his head flopped lifelessly against the tall, green-haired man's chest.

"Princess, Princess!" Kija cried while shaking her shoulder violently. "His Majesty Soo-Won is still alive. Please, calm yourself. He's only fallen unconscious." Kija had to repeat the words several times for them to finally breach the barrier of the blood roaring in Yona's ears. Her eyelashes fluttered as she forced herself down from the frantic high, and sure enough, she could see Soo-Won's chest rising and falling with deep but labored breaths. "There, now," her white dragon crooned reassuringly in her ears. "We'll get His Majesty to his quarters-"

"No!" Yona objected quickly. "Take him to my quarters. It's much closer- but do it quietly and quickly! Soo-Won's condition is a secret!" As Jae-ha and Shin-ah supported Soo-Won's weight between them and slipped out of the study to hurry towards Yona's bower, the princess followed, nearly tripping over her own feet in her haste. Out of her peripheral vision, she spied the shadow guard assigned to protect the king slip away into the darkness of the castle. Yona didn't bother calling out to him. His message was the least of her concerns right now.

Yona bustled past the two dragons to scurry to her bed, violently ripping back the comforter. "Here! Put him here," she commanded, trying to seem authoritative and calm but failing miserably due to the shakiness of her voice. She swiftly covered Soo-Won as they laid him in the bed. When she put the back of her hand against his forehead, the heat rolling off his sweaty skin nearly scalded her. She barked at Zeno to bring her a basin of water and a dishrag. When the immortal dragon did as bid, she wasted no time in saturating the rag with the cool liquid and placing it on Soo-Won's head. Yona's wide, red eyes frantically coursed over Soo-Won's sleeping form to search for something, anything that she could do.

She could do nothing- only sit there and watch, and pray, and weep about her twisted desire to see Soo-Won live despite all he'd done.

* * *

Joo-Doh came to collect the collapsed king in due time. Her dragons had slipped away in the meantime to avoid retribution. If the shadow guard had told Joo-Doh of their presence, he never mentioned, and no judgment was passed down upon her friends. Yona stayed by the king's side in the interim. Her feelings still confused her; the childish love she had harbored for the man had blossomed into something stranger and less defined. She knew she didn't love him like she loved Hak, but… She did _love_ him, in some confusing, mystifying sense. Despite it all, she couldn't see him die. So she remained with him, holding his hand and cursing the fate that had warped him into the desperate and lonely man he'd become.

Soo-Won recovered by the following morning…

and awoke to pass some surprisingly divisive decrees.

He ordered the 13th company to begin undertaking rigorous training, citing the need for "all troops in the impending war with Kai." Even more surprisingly, he appointed Hak as the commander of the unit and the overseer for their training. Kye-Sook was livid and vehemently opposed the notion, but Soo-Won coldly shut down his obstruction by recounting Hak's extensive military accomplishments. The coup de grace came with his final decree- due to Soo-Won's frail condition, for the time being, the commanders of each unit must report to Yona for the time being. Additionally, Yona would oversee the training of the 13th company, and her dragons would also participate in the drills.

In a bold move that turned his most dangerous game on its head, Soo-Won gave Yona a direct line of access to Hak _and _her dragons. Yona had no idea what had flipped the switch so suddenly in Soo-Won's head. She was so accustomed to his carefully crafted plans, his refined and sophisticated scheming, that this outrageously brazen play rocked Yona to her core. She couldn't comprehend his motives this time, not one bit… But she couldn't find it within herself to complain.

"Come in." Her curt order bounced off the walls of her bower following the loud, authoritative knock. Yona was still pretty much confined to her quarters, so the company commanders ventured there to give their daily reports. Many times they acquired where Lord Soo-Won was, and she always politely replied that he was resting because his duties had become taxing as of late. Anticipating this visit as such, she procured a fresh of parchment and her inkwell and quill before patiently awaiting her guest to arrive. She couldn't help the gleeful smile that alit her face when Hak swiftly entered.

"Good evening, Princess." His voice dripped from his smirking mouth like the sweetest honey, sending titillating tingles propagating all through her body. Hak crossed the room to kneel in front of her small work desk. Yona half-listened to his report, scrawling brief notes as necessary. Once he finished his statement, she pushed the papers aside with some dull quip thanking him for his services. Hak immediately slumped over the edge of the table, leaning his cheek in his hand and smirking flirtatiously at her. "I really despise all this official stuff," he sighed melodramatically. "Such a bore."

"Yes, but you're commanding the thirteenth company now," she reminded him poignantly. Hak smiled at her comment; Yona knew it relieved him to hold some position of authority again, especially one that provided him steady access to the princess. However, a frown slowly overtook his pleased features.

"I just don't get it. What's his game?" Yona looked down at the table as he posed the very pertinent question. Yona still couldn't wrap her mind around it- this complicated chess game Soo-Won was manipulating before her eyes. She hadn't even an idea of how the pieces were arranged- who was a pawn, a rook, a knight, a _queen._ Soo-Won's sudden move may have been disorienting, but it didn't change the fact that he was in almost complete control of the pieces, and slowly encroaching on Yona's.

"I don't know," she sighed wearily. She crawled around the edge of the table to cuddle into Hak, suddenly craving his presence. She usually did when the confusion closed in around her, and she desired nothing more than to escape for just a few brief moments. Hak enveloped her in his big, strong arms. He hugged her to his body and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "I don't know," she repeated. "He has plans for us, but I just can't fathom what lies in store for us… This is a most dangerous game we are playing, Hak, and I feel like I am losing my cards one by one."

"Heyyyy," he crooned and hugged her tighter, as if to shield her from her misgivings. "No matter what happens, Yona, _I will protect you,_" he swore, his voice deep and harsh with conviction. Despite the impracticality of it, Yona felt her worries melt away. She dissolved into Hak's gentle embrace, closing her eyes to savor the brief moment of sanctuary he offered her.

It was a most dangerous game between Yona and Soo-Won… And so Yona cherished these brief moments of respite, where she didn't have to worry about the cards in her hand. Hak took those hands and kissed along her fingertips and knuckles, showering her in love and affection. She didn't understand Soo-Won's game at all… but she was grateful for this newest move, because now at least she could be with the person she loved most.


End file.
